Euro Stamping

  Today I want to share with you all a basic stamping manicure using two of the blue shades from the new OPI Euro Centrale collection.  When I first saw these two sitting next to each other, I knew they would make great stamping buddies!

  I started off with two coats of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and added the design using OPI I Saw... U Saw... We Saw... Warsaw and plate m60, one of my very favorite Konad designs.  The colors go perfectly together, as they both have a touch of green and dustiness to them.  These two were already some of my favorites of the collection but I like them even more now that I have seen them together - definitely a combination I can see myself using again!  Click here for swatches of these polishes (and others of the collection).  Have an awesome day!

Let's Get Star-ted

  Good morning all!  Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead.  The last two weeks I only had to work 3 days a week because of all of the snow, so I've gotten sort of lazy, haha.  Time to buckle down and learn some neurology.  But for now, a fun design inspired by a beautiful KBShimmer creation!

  This look started out with three coats of KBShimmer Let's Get Star-ted, a sheer milky white base with medium and large black hex, medium and large blue hex, small and large purple hex and black star glitter.  While I love the polish on it's own, the colors were calling to me to add something else, and I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue Streak and Zoya Mira to add the swoopy tips, and Zoya Raven to outline the purple.  On the ring finger I added star rhinestomes from a Cheeky nail wheel.

  Let's Get Star-ted applied fairly smoothly for a glitter, and I was very impressed that I didn't have to hunt around much at all for the stars.  Placement was also fairly easy and I only moved around a glitter once, for the most part it spread out really well.  I think I am going to have to invest in a few more of these fabulous glitters, I am really impressed!

Zoya Nyx

  Hey guys!  Sorry for my absence the past week, I had an exam that was supposed to be last week and then got moved to Monday after we got snowed in, and overall it's just been a crazy week.  Today is our fourth snow day out of the last five weekdays, it's crazy!  That is the nice thing about still being school - even medical students get snow days!

Outdoors, shade

  Today I wanted to share with you Zoya Nyx from the Pixie Dust collection.  This is a periwinkle blue with silver glitter in a matte, textured finish.  It applied nicely and took three coats for full opacity.  Like the OPI textured polishes, this doesn't really feel all that rough when it is dry like you might expect it to.  I wore it for several days and didn't have a problem with chipping either, which I was a bit concerned about.  I didn't try this one with top coat yet but I am sure I will wear it again and might give that a go.

Indoors, light box

  I wasn't too sure about the textured trend when it started but I am really loving it now.  I didn't get any more of the Pixie Dust polishes but I might have to consider picking up a few more.  I am excited to see how this trend evolves over the year!

Blu Paisley

  I finally received my Zoya order from their 3-free promotion!  I was so excited to finally get it - not only did I get the three free polishes, I also picked out three from the new spring collections.  As I am sure none of you could have possibly guessed, I had to get the blue polish from each collection!  Here is a fun stamping manicure I did with two of my new polishes.

  I started off with two coats of Zoya Blu, a pale blue creme from the new Lovely collection.  Application was fairly good and while I expected it to be somewhat streaky, I didn't really notice this problem.  Granted, my bottle was still a bit cold when I put it on (I didn't wait long after getting the mail, haha).  The color is very pale, almost chalky but not quite, making it unique among my collection of blue cremes.  I love it!  I used another new arrival, Zoya Natty from the fall collection, to add paisley print and some extra flowers using plates BM-315 and Konad m64  Very pleased with how this combination worked out.

Shimmer Liana

  I was thrilled last week when Cindy from Shimmer Polish asked me to review some of her creations, and even more excited when I received the package - these gorgeous polishes have some serious sparkle going on!  I was pretty much drooling by the time I was halfway through the package.  I considered doing one or two large swatch posts, but I actually wanted to get the chance to wear these.... so they will be coming at you one or two at a time.  Now which to start with.....

Outdoors, shade

   Shimmer Liana is a gorgeous midnight blue glitter bomb.  This polish is made up of predominantly dark and medium blue, black, and silver glitters in a variety of size.  Some of the silver glitter is also holographic, which makes this sparkle like crazy in sun and artificial light!

Outdoors, sunlight

  Application was a little on the thick side, which is sort of to be expected for a polish with this much glitter packed into it.  While a bit thick, I didn't really have much of a problem with it and it applied very nicely for a glitter!  Three coats for full coverage.  This would also work really nice as a layering polish.

Outdoors, natural lighting

Indoors, artificial light

Close-up of nail

  I felt like my camera wanted to focus on the black and silver more than the blue at times on this one.  It actually looks very blue in person.  While this picture is blurry and the lighting gave me horrible lobster hands, it caught a bit more of the blue as well as the holographic sparkle.

Indoors, artificial light

  I love the combination of glitters in this - blue and black has always been a favorite of mine.  I was really impressed with Liana and can't want to try out some of the other glitters from Shimmer!  If you are interested in Liana or any other Shimmer polish, check out Cindy's Etsy store or her blog for more information!

My Shimmer rainbow

The polishes featured in this post  were provided to Polishology for review purposes.

Nfu Oh 65

  Here is a gorgeous polish that needs little introduction... the fabulous Nfu Oh 65, a bright sky blue holographic.

Outdoors, sun

Outdoors, sun

  I also snapped a picture of the holo effect (indoors) with and without top coat (Seche Vite).  The results here look fairly dramatic.  I will say the holographic effect improved after the top coat dried, as this was seconds after application.  It seems that without top coat is definitely the best way to preserve the effect, but I can't quite bring myself to do that.  :)

With top coat --------------------- Without top coat

Zoya Marina

  Here is a slightly older Zoya, back from Fall 2011, that for some reason I hadn't gotten around to wearing until just a few months ago.  Now that I've finally seen it on me, I am sure to want to wear it more often.  I am sort of a sucker for blue polish, after all!

Outdoors, natural light

  Zoya Marina is a cool-toned, smokey blue metallic.  I was a little worried this one was going to have that streaky look that some metallic polishes get, but I found that it applied wonderfully.  I love the dusty blue color as well as the finish.  This is a blue that is work-wearable as well, which is great now that I am working with patients every day and don't really feel like I can get away with some of my favorite bright, eye-popping blues as well!

Outdoors, natural light

Imperial Blue

  Happy October!  Sorry for the absence last week - things are ever-crazy in the world of medicine.  Some nights I pretty much get home, eat dinner, and fall asleep... but I will continue to make more of an effort to make time to post as well!  Thanks for all of the great giveaway entries and hello to all of the new followers!  Stay with me while I get back into the groove of posting and I promise I won't disappoint!  :)

Outdoors, natural light

  This manicure was done with one of my all-time favorite light blues, OPI What's With The Cattitude?, which is a gorgeous bright sky blue creme.  This shade is just totally perfect and gorgeous, and I love it.  Super application with two coats.  I added stamping using both images from the Bundle Monster 2012 set, plate BM-315, with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue and Konad Special White.  Love the finished product!

Outdoors, natural light

  Do not forget that TONIGHT is the last day to enter my giveaway!  I will plan to have the winners announced no later than this weekend, so stay tuned!  :)

Stars and Stripes Forever

  I may not be able to wear nail polish to work... but that doesn't stop me from painting my nails for a favorite holiday on my part day off!  I wanted to do something fairly quick and easy (since I only get to wear it for one day) but also fun and festive.

Outdoors, direct sun

    For these nails, I used two coats of either OPI An Affair in Red Square or OPI Into the Night as the base colors.  I then did stamping with Konad Special White and plates m82 (stars) and RA-106 (stripes).  A quick and festive mani!  Love how this one turned out!

Outdoors, shade

  Hope all of my American readers have a very Happy Independence Day!  And to all of the rest of you... hope you have a fabulous 4th of July.  ;)

Maine Attraction + Giveaway Winner!

  First up, some nails - I got this gorgeous blue from Ulta awhile back with rewards points, so it was free - always nice!  It is a really gorgeous and fairly unique shade of blue.

Outdoors, shade

  This is two coats of Ulta Maine Attraction with stamping using Konad White and plate RA-109.  Loved the formula and the color on this one - I can never have too many blue polishes!  The dusty quality to this kind of makes it feel antique... or something along those lines.  :)  The flowers gave it a really classy and elegant look.

  I also finally wanted to announce the winner of the ElectroPop giveaway - sorry this has taken me so long!  I will be throwing in a couple of extra things for the winner, since this is about 2 months overdue and I feel kind of bad about that.  Now on to the winner.... congratulations to....

Annelise, from the blog No Naked Nails, as well as a variety of other awesome blogs that she runs.  Thanks so much for following!  :)

Turquoise and Purple

  I have been rather on the busy side lately and haven't been able to swatch the new lovely summer collections from Zoya yet - I like to do collections (or at least halves of collections) all at once and preferably on a nice sunny day, to get consistent photos.  However, this has not stopped be from wearing them!  I have worn probably half of them by now either alone or with some design - they are actually the only thing I have worn since I got them last week (other than my Easter mani).  Here is a fun design using two of the "Surf" colors!

Outdoors, shade

  This is two coats of Zoya Zuza topped with stamping in Zoya Carly using Red Angel  plate RA-105.  I added a purple rhinestone to the center of one of the circles on the ring finger.  I love these colors together - such a fun and playful combination!

Outdoors, sunlight

  I am hoping to be able to swatch the entire collection no later than this weekend, so you should be seeing these here soon - although you will get to see some more fun nail art before that, so check back! :)

Tristam with a side of OMG

  Here is another gorgeous polish from a-England, the dark blue holographic Tristam!

Outdoors, sunlight

  For these nails I used two coats of s-England Tristam, which applied beautifully and has a gorgeous holographic effect on its own.  Then I stamped on some China Glaze OMG using plate RA-108.

Sunlight

Outdoors, shade

  I pretty much loved everything about these nails - the color is gorgeous, I love the holo, and the pattern is really fun.  I am definitely now a huge fan of a-England polishes!

Busy as a Bumble Bee!

  I have had this idea for a manicure sitting around in my head for such a long time - I am so glad I finally took the time to do it!

Outdoors, shade

  For these nails, I started with China Glaze Sunshine Pop on all but the ring finger, which I painted with China Glaze Kinetic Candy.  For the yellow nails, I added small strips of blue painter's tape and painted over each with black using Sally Hansen Xtreme Black Out.  Finally, on the yellow-and-black nails I added small 3D blue flowers I got from... somewhere.  I topped it off with about a bazillion coats of Seche Vite.  For the blue ring finger, I first added flowers with Konad Special White and plate m82.  Next I painted on the little bee using CG Sunshine Pop and Sally Hansen Black Out, and added the little trail of dots with a dotting tool.  I also added yellow to the middle of the flowers with Sunshine Pop and a dotting tool, and finally added a yellow rhinestone to the center of the largest flower.

Outdoors, sun

  I absolutely love how this manicure turned out!  I think it is totally adorable and perfect for spring!  I have to admit, the little 3D flowers drove me insane - I kept messing with them, which probably didn't help them to stay on.  A few fell off over the course of the three days I wore this, some in the shower and another while just working.  I think if I had used nail glue to attach maybe they would have stayed on better, but mine had dried up so I just attached them with polish (and the bazillion coats of Seche Vite).  I got a lot of compliments on this one!  It took awhile but it was totally worth it.  :)

Katwalk Nail Art

  Here is a fun and simple little mani I did awhile back using Nicole by OPI Kendall on the Katwalk, one of my favorite blue glitters.

Outdoors, shade

  I wanted to do something that would highlight the purple and green glitters that are found in the base color.  I used OPI Grape... Set... Match! to add sparkly purple tips to each nail, then I added the green dots using a dotting tool and Zoya Holly.

Close-up of detail

  While this manicure was fairly simple, I really like how all of the colors worked together.  I absolutely love this glitter and really like the purple and green mixed in with the blue, and this was a great way to showcase all of those colors!

a-England Saint George

  I have been lemming after a few of the a-England polishes for a very long time.  When the new collection came out, I knew it was finally time to give in and order a few.  It was hard to pick which ones to get, since I wanted quite a few of them, but in the end I got Tristam and Lady of the Lake from The Mythicals collection, and Saint George from the new The Legend collection.  I had a tough time deciding which to try out first, so I went with the newest of the bunch, a-England Saint George.

Outdoors, sunlight

  St George is a super pigmented rich teal with a somewhat subtle but still gorgeous holographic effect.  When I say super pigmented, I really mean it - this is one coat.  Granted, it was over a fairly opaque ridge-filler base, so normally it may have taken two coats, but I am still pretty impressed.  And that holo is so gorgeous!  It is not as holo as the other two I got, but it is still stunning.

Mmmm, holo

Outdoors, shade - still pretty!

  Since I was dying to try out the other colors too, I later decided to try a water marble with them just on the ring fingers.  While they played well with the water, they turned out a bit too dark to really see much of a difference, but it was still kind of cool so here are some pictures of that as well.

Right hand, water marbled ring finger

Left hand, water marbled ring finger

  Overall I would say water marble with colors this similar and dark doesn't work so well, haha.  But it was still very pretty.  You can also kind of tell in these pictures that the other two colors are more holo than St George.  I am totally in love with these three polishes (I am actually wearing Tristam now as I type this, and can't wait to try out Lady of the Lake soon!) and I may be back to place a second order sometime in the near future.  In particular, I am thinking I should have added Dragon to my collection, but maybe next time.  :)  What is your favorite a-England polish?

Bright and Bold Flowers

  When I got the OPI Nicki Minaj collection, I couldn't wait to try Fly - I think I put it on within an hour or so of opening the box.  While I don't have pictures of Fly alone (you will have to wait a bit for the swatches, sorry - I am slightly behind again, but I plan on getting caught up soon!), here is some fun flower nail art for you!

  This is two coats of OPI Fly, stamped with Konad Special White and plate m64.  I added bright lime green dots to the center of the flowers using another Nicki Minaj polish, OPI Did It On 'Em.  I was pretty much totally in love with this manicure, the bright colors were super fun and I love this stamp.  Would wear again, haha.  Fly might be one of my new favorites!  :)

DISCLOSURE: The polishes featured in this post  were provided to Polishology by OPI for review purposes.  This is an honest and independent review and was in no way influenced by the company.

Wintery Christmas - Free Hand Style!

  I finally did it!  I took the plunge and decided to try my luck at free-hand nail art!  I am very proud of this, since I have been shying away from it for so long, assuming it would turn out terrible.  And while it is not totally amazing, it is at least a start - and still fairly cute, in my opinion.  :)

Natural Light

  For these nails, I started off with two coats of OPI What's With the Cattitude? as the light sky blue base.  On all but the ring finger, I stamped snowflakes using Konad White and plate m59.  I also sponged white onto the tips in a fluffy gradient to give the look of snow.  Finally, I painted the reindeer on the ring finger.  I started off with OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys for the dark brown, then OPI San Tan-Tonio for the muzzle and antlers.  I did the eyes with a dotting tool and added the red rhinestone for his nose.  Finally I attempted some mouth-lines with black, but they came out a bit thicker and fuzzier than I had hoped.

  Overall I am very pleased with my first attempt at free-hand nail art.  The reindeer came out looking just a tad bit like some other sort of animal (his face is a bit too round, I realized)... so whether he looks like a reindeer to you, or he looks more like a dog/monkey/walrus/seal/otter with antlers, that is not the point.  The point is that I finally took the plunge, and whatever species he is, he is still pretty cute.  So you can expect to see me playing around with freehand more often on here now, yay!  If you have any ideas or suggestions or anything, let me know! :)

Beyond the Mistletoe

  Okay, I will be completely honest, I have no idea what this color has to do with mistletoe.  That being said, this is an amazing polish.

Outdoors, sunlight

  Color Club Beyond The Mistletoe is a dazzling light blue holo glitterbomb.  This is three coats, and application was fairly decent, for a chunky glitter.  Like most chunky glitters it had some chipping problems, but I am totally willing to put up with it.  Look at that holo effect!  This polish is just totally and completely stunning.  It is the only one I got from this collection (darned budget) and I am glad it is the one I picked.  So wintery and fun!

Outdoors, shade

  Gorgeous even in the shade, with light blue and holo rainbow glitters.  I am sort of wishing I had gotten some more from this collection... maybe I will have to order a few next time I order online... :)

I've Got the Winter Blues

  But in a good way.  :)  I absolutely loved this manicure.  I wore it for four days and only took it off because it was time to do Thanksgiving nails... I would have worn it for longer otherwise.

Outdoors, shade

  This manicure starts off with two coats of the lovely Zoya Kristen, from the Feel collection, as the base.  Added to this were darker blue swirls in Nubar Boyfriend Jeans and plate BM201.  Finally, I added delicate little white flowers using Konad Special White and plate m37.

Outdoors, sunlight

  Looking at this manicure just makes me want to wear it again... now.  I am totally in love with this pale blue and love the way the darker blue compliments it.  I should have Zoya Feel collection swatches for you soon!

Boyfriend Jeans

  When the Chanel Les Jeans collection came out, I was drooling over Blue Boy.  I mean, they were all pretty, but something about that color just really called to me.  Unfortunately, Chanel is just a tad bit beyond my price point, heh.  Then, I found the glorious Nubar Jeans collection, and I knew that Boyfriend Jeans would have to become a part of my collection!

Outdoors, shade

  This is two coats of Nubar Boyfriend Jeans, an amazing medium blue, dusty creme.  I am totally in love with this color, it is so gorgeous.  I just want to go put it on again now, just looking at it!  Application was fabulous, as was wear.  If you were lemming after the Les Jeans collection but couldn't bring yourself to spend your life savings on three polishes, then I would seriously check these out!  This one in particular.  I am very glad I got it!  :)