Holo Apple

Today I have a quick post for a mani refresh I did with Orly's Green Apple. I decided to use one of my new Bundle Monster plates, plate BM 201. This is the swirly full nail design on the right of the plate. At first glance before stamping it actually looks like a vine of some sort, but on the nail i get this swirly "gust of wind" feeling :) Very Van Gough, Stary, Stary Night. I really want to try stamping this pattern with a dark blue over a light blur now!

Anyways, this is how my actual mani came out, I used China Glaze's High Def to stamp and the design stamped perfectly. Every time I use these plates I am very pleased with the results.

Just in case you didn't know, High Def is from China Glaze's Tronica line and it is a a beautiful, prismatic shade of medium to light cornflower blue.

I really like the little something extra this added to my previous mani, it livened it up without being over the top, it's actually quite subtle. But out in the sunlight it really sparkles :)

Tronica Leopard

Happy Monday!

Hopefully you are in good spirits for the beginning of this week. For my Canadian readers, are you as happy as me that this is a short week? Plus, I'm a Canada day baby so looking forward to my birthday AND day off ;) To all my American readers, you have the long weekend to look forward to also :) I love long weekends in the summer time. I can't believe this is the last week of June, where did this month go?!

Speaking of time getting away from me, I have been falling behind on posting for my blog. Last week was rough for me for some reason, I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown or something! Nothing too crazy, just really thinking about the future and what I want to accomplish in life. I am glad to say that I am ready to get my life back on track, and without getting in to too much detail, I look forward to many new and exciting changes I my life soon. Wish me luck!

Anyways, on to what you came here to see today, nail polish! This was the mani refresh I meant to post on Friday with China Glaze's Laser Lime.

I recently picked up this NYC polish along with some others a week ago, that's another thing I need to post, my U.S haul. I purchased my first Sinful Colors! For this mani I used NYC's West Village, which is a deep indigo with a purple shimmer which disappeared when I stamped. It was very well pigmented and I highly recommend it for stamping if you have it.

I like the effect it gave on top of Laser Lime, it looked more turquoise and was thin enough to pick up the prismatic sparkle beneath. It really reminded me of China Glaze's DV8... I can dream, right?!

I love this funky leopard combo! I used Bundle Monster stamp BM 221 for this one. I double side stamped my thumb for this one to ensure my full thumb was covered, but I have wide thumbs.

This pattern is perfect for double stamping because the pattern it not symmetrical or repeating. It's not the most original pattern, I have a similar one on a Konad plate, but it was what I was feeling at the time. With all of the nail art plates I have accumulated, I really want to use them as much as I can and try new designs on new plates. I still have much love for these new BM plates! What do you think of this combo?

Tronica - Laser Lime

Today I found a polis I wanted but didn't get when I had the chance. By the time I knew I HAD to have it, it was nowhere to be found :(

Luckily I found this beauty, China Glazes Laser Lime, on eBay, and it wasn't ridiculously priced! I think it go it for $5 something, that's not bad :)

Anyways, you may or may not know that this polish is from the Tronica collection and is a scattered holographic, prismatic polish. I really love the colour, it is a very light yellow leaning green.

Photos do not do this one justice, it is super pretty :) The little prismatic particles sparkle so much in the sunlight.

Pictured on my nails is two coats, I was happy with two but 3 would give total coverage. For me 2 was enough coverage for me, I was going to stamp over it anyways, plus the sparkle distracts from any sheerness.

Before I go, I just want to mention some awards I was given by other bloggers:

Over at A Polish Touch, I received the Stylish Blogger Award. I have re-posted this award times before so anyone who would like to take part, please feel free!

Ruxi over at Une Ruxi a Paris, also gave me the top 10 award!

Thanks ladies, I will re-post the top 10 Award soon.

Black Crackle and Prismatic Sparkle

Hello ladies,

today I have another crackle mani to share, it's actually a refresh from the lovely China Glaze, High Def from the Tronica collection. Although I loved this polish on its own, I just had to try out my new crackles :)

I chose Black Mesh to go over top. Although I had tested this crackle over many fake nails to play around with different effects, when it came to my own nails I felt like the application was completely new! I wanted to the crackle to appear more linear and thin, so for my first nail, left pinky, I applied 1 thin coat.

As you can see in the photos, this coat was a little too thin, so for the next nail I applied a thicker coat, and as you could imagine I got a bolder crackle. Overall, I love the look of a metallic or silvery/glittery polish under the black crackle, it really pops, I just wish I had gotten the crackle to apply more in the pattern I had hoped it to be.

One thing that I find is that the finish of the polish you are painting over with the crackle effects the overall pattern. For example, over a smother polish a more linear pattern is produced, where as on a more gritty, glitter polish the crackle can come out completely different.

I would suggest test painting a fake nail with the base you want to use and try the crackle over it before applying to your nail so you know what your going to get.

I have not tried any other application (blobbing, zig-zags, etc) on my own nails yet, but I think I will use the zig-zag or criss cross method on my next crackle mani. I tried this method on a fake nail and the pattern came out looking very similar to a cheetah pattern! I have also seen it look like a more floral pattern, so depending on which colour crackle you use and the base polish will effect the pattern you get.

Below is the look of the crackle I got on my right hand.

And.. I also had to throw in some sunlight photos:

What do you think, do you like this combo?

I Found Some Halo!

Hello ladies,

Today I have one of the two polishes I purchased from China Glazes LE Tronica collection. I sooooo regret not getting Laser Lime when I had the chance, now it will probably be impossible to find for a decent price. I picked up my Tronica's at Sally's at the end of February on sale for $3.99 which is awesome!

When I first heard about this collection I was super excited because I didn't get a chance to purchase any of the OMG polishes when they were still around. I was then disappointed when I heard by other bloggers that these were a let down, as the prismatic particles were not as strong when compared to the polishes in the OMG collection. I still liked some of the colours so I decided to pick up Techno Teal and High Def.

I applied High Def on the weekend, the sun was literally blinding in Toronto, so I figured this would be the perfect chance to see the prismatic polish in action. I was surprised in the best way! Yes, the polish does not have a linear "halo" like the OMG polishes, BUT, I really like the effect this polish has, its like a subtle halo with amazing prismatic particles bouncing off the light. I really love it.

These photos honestly do not do this polish justice, the best photos I could get were in my boyfriends car! lol I always seem to get the best pictures in there for some reason! In the other photos you can see mostly scattered glitter particles, but in the car photos you can see the tiniest bit of a linear effect, it's sooooo cool! Could not stop looking at my nails whenever the sun was out this weekend. The car photos are below.

I can even see the light reflecting particles at work! I have a pot light right over my head and the polish catches the light in one of the best ways possible, super pretty.

The actual shade of the polish is a mix between a light cornflower blue, and in some lighting it could even look like a light, blue toned purple.

This was definitely worth it for me to purchase, I can't wait to try Techno Teal and am hoping I can come across Laser Lime in the near future.

What are your thoughts on this collection, Yay or Nay?