Halloween Week: Scary Pumkins

Dusted off my stamper to make these cute and scary pumpkins. I stamped using Konad White and image plate A37 over Julep orange crackle (Sabrina) and dirty blue (Eloise) combo.  

I tried to sponge the crackle on instead of polishing it on.  It made it look very "industrial".

A quick swatch of Eloise alone. 

All of the contents of the October Box American Beauty Box.  I'm excited to try the Quick Dry Drops. They usually never work for me.  Hopefully these will. 

More Halloween manis to come. Thanks for stopping by!

NOTD: Golden Rainbow Flowers

I wanted to share yesterday's mani with you. I started out with a muted green but wanted to make it more vibrant. I added a nail foil on top then stamped with Cheeky image plates, the 26 bundle, using Sally Hansen insta-dri in Pronto Purple. The ring finger is accented with Claire's glitter crackle polish.

A closer view to show details. The foil crinkled slightly but still looks good underneath the stamping. It reminds me of the foil used to wrap Hershey's kisses.

I hope you like this design. Until next time, Happy Polishing!

Queen's Color Holiday Crackle

A quick view of a Holiday inspired crackle, CK18 Metallic Rose by Queen's Color. I couldn't capture this one correctly. It's called metallic but it's looks more glitter-y to me. I like the rugged and uneven look of the crackle. I used one thick coat over LA Colors LIVE a silver foil.





And that's all for today. I'll have another Holiday mani tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

China Glaze Metallica Collection Swatches

Hello everyone! I can't believe it's almost Friday. I started a new rotation this week and I've barely had time to relax but I wanted to pop in and share the China Glaze Metallics Crackles with you. Enjoy :)

Oxidized Aqua

Platinum Pieces

Tarnished Gold

Cracked Medallion

Haute Metal

Latticed Lilac

All of the crackles were applied over dry polish, except Oxidized Aqua and you can see there's a difference in the way that it crackles (larger gaps). I actually prefer this look, so next time I'll apply them over wet polish. My only concern would be getting the base coat mixed in with the crackle, but that can be fixed by applying it over a clear top coat instead of directly over the base.

I like the idea of Metallic crackles and how they shimmer, especially when they're matt-i-fied. It seems like everyone is jumping on the crackle band wagon, even those that aren't too familiar with polish trends. My boss even asked me about crackle polish, lol. I think China Glaze did a great job putting a spin on a trend that's being over utilized. The Metallics provide an edgy look but can be softened by pairing them with your favorite pastel.

China Glaze Metallic Crackles can be found at Sally's Beauty Supply or your favorite E-tailer.

~Some of these products were provided for review~

Color Club Fractured Collection 2011 Swatches, Part 2

Today I have swatches of the second half of the Fractured Collection. You can see the first half of the collection here.

Spitting Image a medium blue over Maybelline Go-Getter Green. I love this combination! Very summer-ry.

Kiss & Break Up a pretty fuchsia crackle. It's somewhat sheer which allows the base color to show through. I layered it over Orly Cotton Candy.

Tattered in Gold is a sheer foil crackle that should be applied in a medium coat. It looks great over pastels. I used Finger Paints Blissfully Blue.

Close-up to show texture. It dries matte but a topcoat brings out the bling.

The colors are fun for the summer, easy to apply and crackles in a few seconds. They look best with a medium coat of fractured polish, too thick and you get too few crackles. My favorites are Tattered in Gold and Splitting Image. Tattered in Gold is a great alternative for those who haven't been able to find the Sally Hansen Gold Crackle, or are overall dissatisfied with the results.

Cherimoya Trinity & The Pink Panther

I wanted to have a little summer fun so I went for the crack!!! Since I've been doing a rotation in Corporate America I've been trying to tone down my mani's, but my boss is away, so I can wear whatever I want. I always feel so suffocated when I can't wear the polishes I want the most, so I'm having a little nail party..... at least for the next few days :)

Here's Trinity over Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau. I stumbled across this pretty while visiting a local beauty supply store. I didn't realize it was such a bright pink in the store. So bright that it's almost neon. It's a great summer color and a great buy for $2.99. It cracks well, best over dry polish like the other crackles. I've also seen these for sale online but I can't remember where at the moment. It was an etailer that I've never used before.

I wanted to experiment so I stamped animal prints. Hey it's the Pink Panther (ha ha).
It created a cute 3-D effect.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tomorrow with another fun mani!

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat & Essence Nail Stickers

On my way home from Ulta I spotted the new Sally Hansen crackles at Walgreens. I would have gotten a close up but the sales lady was starring at me, lol. They were $6.99.

Click to Enlarge

I also FINALLY found the Essence nail stickers at ULTA. I've been looking for these girls since last year when I read a post by an International Blogger. The designs appear to be different than the original ones released. I hope I can get some good wear out of them. The package states you can wear them up to five days. They were priced at $2.49 and there's a separate nail file you can purchase to shape them for $1.99.

I choose the stickers with that I couldn't duplicate with Konad/fauxnad and the purple crackle, Vintage Violet 02. I'll go back for more crackles when the BOGO sale hits.

I'm still wearing my blue mani but here are some quick swatches of Vintage Violet over Silver, Yellow, Orange-Yellow, Mint, Pink, Orange and Baby Blue.

Thanks for reading! More swatches to come :)