Monday Mani: Secret Galaxy by 6 Harts

This one I had a HARD time taking off... in fact, I didn't take it off until I *had* to because my whole pointer finger of polish fell off in the shower.  The tip wear on this was incredible, which is a testament to the high quality of the polishes I used.

Base coat by Northern Polish, two layers Willa by Zoya, two layers Secret Galaxy by 6 Harts, and top coat of Glitter Glaze by Girly Bits.  There is incredible sparkle to Secret Galaxy that I had a difficult time capturing on camera.  Holo only seems to want to be captured when the photo is blurry!  So you'll see that in some of my photos in an effort to show you that super sparkle.  Ignore my poor clean-up job - the macro setting is very kind to point out what the naked eye thought was fine!  All taken under studio lighting on a white background.  Love love love Secret Galaxy!

Let me know what you think of the color in the comments below!

Disclaimer: polishes purchased for my own personal use.  All opinions are my own.  No affiliation with Northern Polish, Zoya, 6 Harts, or Girly Bits.

Tribute to Blogger Colorful Crack: Manis for Gosia

Gosia of popular beauty blog Colorful Crack recently announced her retirement from her blog due to other commitments.  Her friends from the blogging community are coming together to create manis to wish her good luck on her next endeavors.  #manisforgosia

One of Gosia's favorite indie polish brands is Superficially Colorful Lacquer.  She swatches the new collections for the brand, and I noticed a trend of her creating an awesome accent nail for each swatch.  Pulling from my own SCL collection, I created a monochromatic mani using Eye of the Storm and accented the ring nail with a sparkly coat of Imaginary Narwhals to create my mani in honor of and inspired by Gosia.

Eye of the Storm is a very dark and cold blue, somewhat metallic, with a little bit of holographic glitter. In some lighting it leans more navy and in others it leans more blue.  It dries semi-matte with a hint of sparkle.  Imaginary Narwhals is a silvery holographic micro glitter polish with occasional silver stars in clear base. It's fun and sparkly, but you have to fish a little for the stars.  After two days, you can see there's minimal tip wear!

Indirect lighting on the pool deck

Shade lighting on the lawn

Disclaimer: all products were purchased by me.  No affiliation with Superficially Colorful Lacquer and its products.

Day4JNAC - 13 Days of January Nail Art Challenge: Monochromatic

It's no secret blue is my most favorite color.  Yo Cupid Take A Hike by Colors by Llarowe is my biggest lemming so I'm constantly searching for a dupe.

Now, I can't say for sure this is a dupe since I don't own both to compare, but I CAN say that this is literally the exact shade of blue that is my most favorite color.  You know how you have a favorite color, but it's a certain shade within that spectrum that's your most favorite shade, the one that you think is the best representation of that color?  Yeah, this is it.

Say hello to Dream Walker by Darling Diva Polish.  This is almost a one coater polish.  I tried out some new stickers I got and I can't believe how gorgeous this looks.  I decided to be simple and go REALLY monochromatic for this post.  Just mono, haha.  I could just stare at my nails all day long.  I love it.  I'm going to get some serious mileage out of this bottle!

Also, holo.  That is all.

Photos taken outdoors in the shade.

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday Mani: Colors by Llarowe in Nice Melons!

Today's handmade polish mani features Colors by Llarowe in Nice Melons! (from the Summer 2014 collection), a 5-free indie nail polish company located in Colorado.

Right now I have nubbins, which I hate, so I decided I needed to celebrate with a nice juicy color before fall sets in here.  I forgot at the time I picked it out, but I've actually already worn this color before.  Doesn't matter, though, because it's SO amazing!  I love me some coral palettes, and Nice Melons! from Colors by Llarowe captures the yumminess of a cantaloupe while also looking coral-y.  In low lights, it leans pink, but in warmer lighting it leans orange.  LOVE IT.  Plus it's *holo* and what's there not to love about that?  Colors by Llarowe applies beautifully on my nails and dries fast with my body chemistry.  As always, I use Zoya Anchor and Zoya Armor as my bottom and top coats, respectfully.

These photos were taken outside on an overcast day to demonstrate the polish's midrange tones of color.

Disclaimer:  All products were purchased with my own money.  All reviews and opinions are my own. Not affiliated with Colors by Llarowe or Llarowe.com.

Monday Mani: #fightforlightandlive and Girly Bits

Yesterday afternoon I discovered the #fightforlightandlive and #depressionawareness mani movement on Facebook.  Being a mental health professional first and foremost, I didn't want to miss out on participating.  I figured better late than never!

I had just opened up my three Mystery Bags from an exclusive sample sale for group members that handmade indie polish maker Girly Bits ran earlier this month.  The bags contained OOAKs, Oops, Prototypes, Testers, Discontinueds, and the like.  Among them was a beautiful green/purple holo duochrome (if I'm guessing correctly) and I thought it perfect to try out since it was a newbie and green.

While I had some application and drying issues - an anticipated risk of mystery samples - that affected clean up and appearance, it is quite the lovely color.  If the application issues were worked out (which may be the reason it didn't make it into production), I think this prototype would turn into a huge hit!  Next time I think I will build with super thin coats as I think I was a little overzealous with my painting.  This is two semi-thick coats with Zoya's Anchor and Armor.

Sadly, my camera was NOT cooperating with capturing the purple side of it.  When I walk into full sun, it turns into a full blown muted purple shade and the holo lights up.  While the naked eye can clearly see it, my camera clearly cannot.  Which is SO unfortunate because I wish I could easily show you how dynamic a color this is!  Instead, I tried my best with different lighting and angles in hopes of highlighting its beauty.

Post in the comments below what you think of the color!  And, please, help fight stigma surrounding mental illness and become an advocate for changing society's perspective.  Visit your local community agency or NAMI chapter, and help educate yourself and others about mental illness disorders.  Together we can #stampoutstigma and be agents for change!

Shade lighting

Direct sun lighting

(aka when my camera should have captured the purple instead)

Indirect sun lighting

(trying to capture the purple at a new angle)

Indirect sun lighting

Indirect sun lighting

(can see the purple a little bit)

Disclaimer:  All products were purchased with my own money.  All reviews and opinions are my own. Not affiliated with Girly Bits.

NOTD Handmade: The Power of Love by Girly Bits

The Power of Love by Canadian indie maker Girly Bits: "The Power of Love is a lavender holo sprinkled with lavender, sea green and silver holo glitter, plus purple shimmer and sparks of silver holo."

I was actually surprised after rereading the description because it looks more like a lavender polish with gold glitter at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, I can see all the lovely elements. :)

This color is so stunning. I had some difficulty with the application - it was on the thick side - but I think that's due to it being jam packed with glitter (and who can complain about being jam packed with goodies?!). I think this is quickly becoming a new favorite of mine! I can't stop staring at my nails.

This photo was taken in indirect sunlight.  Let me know in the comments what you think!

Disclaimer: Products in this post were purchased by me for personal use.  No compensation was given for this review.  All opinions are my own.  Not affiliated with Girly Bits.

NOTD Handmade: Haleakala by Elevation Polish

I'm currently wearing handmade indie polish by Elevation Polish called Haleakala.  This absolutely gorgeous shade is a purple holo that lands somewhere between a berry and a wine shade.  My photo doesn't do it justice!

Earlier this week I wore Darkest Storm. I can never get enough blue!