DIY Moisturizing Polish Remover!

Hello my darlings, I'm still dealing with life and all that... But I uploaded this video to youtube on making a moisturizing polish remover, and thought y'all might enjoy it. I meant to do this as a post a long time ago (did I? I really don't remember :P), but videos are always good. So here you go!

As usual, if you want to see the details, go to the youtube page. I mostly do skin related videos there, so stick around if you enjoy that sort of thing. :)

Scattered and Tattered Heels of Dazzle

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a while, blah blah blah... Let's look at some nails.

I got a few of the China Glaze Glitz Bitz 'n' Pieces glitters and have been playing with them a lot lately. I was inspired to layer the pink one, Scattered and Tattered, with Venique's Heels of Dazzle, which is a very pretty red hex glitter over my trusty Urban Outfitters Binge with Zoya Sooki on the accent nail. I thought it would be nice matte, so I topped it with NYC Matte Me Crazy.

I really like these glitters, but man they're a pain. They're very dense, which is fantastic, but they turn goopy fast, and it's hard to get a light layer. On a bare nail or swatch wheel, they can be applied lightly, but over a tacky polished nail, they tend to cling to the polish and form a thick layer of glitter.

Also I've found that they don't wear very well for whatever reason. Maybe it's the bar glitter and large pieces, or something in the base. It's a mystery. I still like them though.

Urban Outfitters Binge, China Glaze Scattered and Tattered, Zoya Sooki, Venique Heels of Dazzle

I'm still trying to figure out how best to photograph nails with my new camera and lights. It seems to do better with a white background than my usual black, so I'll see how that goes.

New Year's Holo on Holo action!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I've been quite busy with Christmas-y things, and life things, and I needed a little break from blog things. Also, as it turns out, homemade Christmas gifts and manicures don't mix. Anyway!

What's more party-licious than holographic glitter? I'll tell you what... Holographic glitter on top of holographic polish. Yeah, baby!

First two photos are with flash. I'm still trying to figure out how to photograph holographic polish. I also got a new camera! How do the photos look? Any different?

Making this kind of manicure is ridic-easy. Apply a few coats of holo polish, then layer different sizes and shapes of holo glitter on top. I started with the smallest and ended with the largest. That gem on top is Venique Twinkling Glitter. Have I mentioned how much I love Twinkling Glitter lately?

Venique Twinkling Glitter, Ozotic 509, Nubar Hologram Glitter, Wet n Wild Cheers

It's a holo party! Happy new year, everyone. :)

Inspire Me Monday: Androgy-gorgeous!

I haven't watched Project Runway regularly for many years, but I tuned in this past week by chance and saw some very, very hot fashion. The challenge for the week was to make two androgynous looks for both a male and female model, and my favorite (and, spoiler alert, the winner) was Emilio Sosa's burgundy deliciousness.

Let's get personal for a moment. I love androgynous people. Like... I don't know how to describe it. They're hot. Not necessarily in a get-in-my-bed way, but I just have such an affinity for them. Emilio's models were h-o-t hot. So this is my little tribute to his designs and the fabulous models who wore them.

Come on now. That's some gorgeous.

I didn't have colors that matched exactly, so I had to improvise. The dark red is Sparitual I Feel The Earth Move, and the lighter red is Zoya Rekha layered over OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ Sauce. The gold pinstripes are Essie Good as Gold. I mentioned before that the Essie chrome polishes are awesome for nail art, but it bears repeating. They're awesome for nail art!

This combination is also quite season appropriate! Burgundies and golds together are divine around this time of year.

Sparitual I Feel the Earth Move, OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ Sauce, Zoya Rekha, Essie Good as Gold

Be sure to check out the other Inspire Me Mondays!

Kelly of devilish-polish.com

Inspire Me Monday: Is it festive in here, or is it just me?

I love Christmas lights. I'm not actually into Christmas itself, but I love the decorations, the smells, the ambiance... I decided to make merry this year and hang some icicle lights inside my apartment. I had two strands already, so I decided to make due with that and put one long row down the center. I also made and have been burning some candles that smell like cranberries making out with apple cider. It's festive as !#@$.

So being inspired by my lights, of course I had to use them as inspiration this week!

I started out with two coats of OPI Light My Sapphire, which is a gorgeous shimmery navy blue that I only ever wear around this time of year. I then painted the lights with acrylic paint, aiming to get the curves in line with half moons. To finish, I sponged a bit of CND Golden Sparkle on top to look like snowflakes glowing in the warm white lights, and topped with Seche Vite.

I'm still recovering, and unfortunately sitting in the position I need to maintain to do detailed nail art (which takes about 1-2 hours at least) is very painful for my sad little back muscles. :/ I will try to make more regular posts, but it doesn't look like I will be doing 2-3 works of nail art per week any time soon. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, I just hope you know I wish I could be making more delightful little nail costumes to share with everyone. I know you all understand.

Has anyone else put up Christmas decorations already? I just love 'em. I'm thinking about making a garland to hang up with the lights. And does anyone else in the NE wish it would snow?Christmas merrymaking requires snow! :)

OPI Light My Sapphire and CND Golden Spakle

Be sure to check out the other Inspire Me Mondays!

Kelly of devilish-polish.com

Inspire Me Monday: What is George thankful for?

I have the lovely George from Varnished Valkyrie guesting for me today as I am still trying to get my @$# together after getting so behind. I asked both Kas and George to make manicures inspired by something for which they are thankful. Let me tell you, I'm thankful for talented guest posters who are gracious enough to spend their time making posts for my blog. I hope you enjoy the enchanting digits of Miss George!

_______

Hi everyone! I wanted to thank Veronica for letting me leave my mark on her blog, first of all! I had a lot of fun doing this manicure (not to mention showing it to my folks) and I'm pretty thankful for the opportunity.

So, I'm most thankful for my family. For the sake of this post, I used my biological family, but if I were doing my chosen family as well, there'd be flags for Australia, the USA, Spain, the UK, Poland, and Egypt. I am an only child, but I have been blessed with amazing and wonderful people in my life. My friends, both here in Canada and abroad, are like sisters to me. They are truly my chosen family, and they watch out for me and are good for tough love when I need it most.

My biological family, however, are based here in Canada and in South Africa, so I chose those two flags. My family here in Canada are small(somehow we eluded the old standard of big families, I can't think of anyone in any generation with more than three children) so for me an unusually big Thanksgiving or Christmas is about 12 people. We're close, and I'm lucky that I get to see them all the time. They are so loving and they are such a big part of who I am, I can't imagine my life without them. My family in South Africa, however, is bigger and more extended, but due to circumstance, I've never been able to go and visit them or meet most of them.

Until now, that is :) I'm pretty excited to say it, but my parents and I are flying out of the cold Canadian winter on December 14 and landing the next day in Johannesburg. We'll be there for 6 weeks(until January 26), which is like an absolute dream. I'm looking forward to meeting two of my dad's siblings for the first time, hugging my cousins, and seeing the places where my parents met and fell in love and spent the seven years pre-me! I'm also excited to see my mother's high school(She was a Canadian exchange student) and meeting the families who hosted her.

So here it is, what I'm thankful for: My amazing family. 

_______ 

Thank you so much, George! I hope you have a wonderful trip to see your family. Be sure to show them this beautiful manicure. :)

Meet DS Jewel, and her friend Crimson Sparkle!

DS Jewel is my absolute favorite fall polish. It's the polish I think about when I think of autumn, which is odd, since I usually only wear it once or twice during the season. But I decided that since I haven't been in condition to do nail art, I'd spend some quality time with my dear friend, and introduce her to another dear old friend with whom I thought she'd get along famously. First, here's a mug shot of DS Jewel on her own:

DS Jewel on her own. Three coats, no topcoat.

I'm not fond of browns, or typical earthy autumn type manicures, so this is as close to brown as you'll ever see me wear. But Jewel isn't brown, so much as a pinky bronze with a copper flash and pink sparkles throughout. She's gorgeous. Enlarge that picture!

Another favorite polish is CND Crimson Sparkle, whose sparkly bits are very similar in color to Jewel's. They were fast friends.

Crimson sparkle is just the sparkles in a clear topcoat, and it has a golden iridescence with a slight green flash when viewed at an angle.

Sigh, beautiful. DS Jewel is part of OPI's permanent DS line, so you can still get it. She's a slightly sheer polish, as are many with hidden sparkles, but 3 coats gets the job done. Crimson Sparkle is permanent as well, and my version has the original faulty cap, so it has to be thinned regularly. Don't know if they ever fixed that. Regardless, she's a must-have in my opinion.

OPI DS Jewel and CND Crimson Sparkle - an autumn romance