NOTD: Coooooookkkkkkiiiiieeeeeee!!!

I think this might be the fastest turnaround I've ever done on a post, and that includes 31DC (I usually try to run a day or three early so that I have time to prepare posts). I painted my nails, photographed, and edited everything within a span of three hours for this post! I had originally done this design yesterday, but the photos were pretty terrible because of the overcast weather, and this morning I redid them because I had pretty bad tip wear.

I did these nails as part of a challenge posted in a Facebook nail art group I'm in, where the theme was "Matte + Glossy". I dunno what brought cookies to mind, but I decided to run with it! I made the base of the cookie matte, and then I added drops of glossy top coat over the chocolate chips, which also made them a little bit bumpy, adding even more realism! And then of course, I had to make a simple Cookie Monster accent :D

Polishes used:
Bourjois- In The Navy (blue base)
perfect Chic- Frost (cookie base)
Careline- Hot Chocolate (brown outline)
Superficially Colorful- Mud Slide (chocolate chips)
Ga-de- Whitest White
LeChat- Black Magic
Golden Rose matte top coat

NOTD: Holo stamping over brown

You know, I didn't used to be a fan of brown nails (is that gramattically correct? I can't think of a better way to phrase it but it feels off for some reason). But then I discovered the world of brown shimmer. Take, for example, Mud Slide by Superficially colorful- a gorgeous, rich, earthy brown that I love having on my fingertips as often as possible. For this mani I stamped over it with some holos and added some rhinestones, to complete the jewel-like effect I get from this color.

Colors used:
Superficially Colorful- Mud Slide (brown)
Color Club Halo Hues- Cherubic (stamping)
Color Club Halo Hues- Cosmic Fate (accent dots)
Rhinestones from Ebay

Swatched: Random Superficially Colorful polishes

Hey all! I don't especially have a theme for today's post, I just thought I'd share swatches of some more Superficially Colorful polishes that I picked up on Black Friday.

I'll admit that these aren't my best swatches ever, they came at the end of a long day of swatching so my cuticles were a disaster and the lighting isn't perfect. But they're still really pretty polishes, so I needed to share!

I don't have anything to say about them individually so I'll address them as a group. The formula was great, opaque in two medium coats, not too thick and not too thin. They all have a very similar shimmer that isn't in your face glittery but is a more subdued, classy kind of gorgeous. New World and Cornucopia are more metallic shades (New World is completely smooth while Cornucopia has the tiiiiniest hint of brush strokes, but only if you're really looking for them), while Omaticaya is more of a jelly. They all have some holo but Omaticaya's holo is the most prominent. Overall I've had a fantastic experience with every single shade I've tried so far from Superficially Colorful, and I'd recommend them to anyone! I have one of her thermals on its way to me and I can't wait to get it :D

NOTD: Thermal gradient

I recently picked up a bunch of polishes from Superficially Colorful, and among them were several thermal polishes. Her thermals are really great, the color shift is always super dramatic and they are great to apply and have fantastic opacity. So what's better than a thermal polish? Three of them, gradient-ified!

Warm

Cold

I also took a video of the transition, which is pretty dramatic:

Sadly, I don't remember the name of the blue polish (I lent it to a friend so I can't check) but the middle polish is Giggly and the red polish is Enthralled. They're all a little bit more vivid when worn on their own (since it's sponged on it's a little more sheer), but I love them this way too!

NOTD: Subtle brown gradient

This is a quick little mani I created using Superficially Colorful's Mud Slide and  Ga-De Tangerine Garnet. I just the brush from the bottle to make the gradient. I got a whole bunch of Slacquer polishes lately, I've got some swatches waiting to be watermarked in my drafts folders so I'll put them up here soon! 

2014 Roundup

Happy 2015 everyone!

I had a great year this year, nail polish wise. My photography got better, my audience grew, my cleanup got neater, I opened an instagram account, I completed the entire 31DC, I got sent items to review for the very first time, and best of all, I started my own indie brand!!

I decided to compile a list of a few of my favorite polishes of the year (that I have swatched, anyway. I got some amazing polishes that I didn't swatch) and a few of my favorite nail arts. My most viewed post this year was a giveaway post, so I'm not going to use post views as a metric for quality, in this case.

Favorite polishes, in no particular order:

Gade Blue Satin (it's not even so much the nail polish as it is this particular swatch. It's unreal!)

Superficially Colorful Giggly (look at that dramatic thermal shift!)

Aliquid Lacquer Stop and Smell The Orchids, and Gargoyle (I love all of them but I can't sum up 2014 without at least one radiant orchid polish, and Gargoyle is unlike any other indie I'd ever seen

Chic Love & Hate (I know some people are 'over' textures. I'm not through with them yet!)

ILNP Abundance (Honestly I'd have included every single ILNP multichrome if I had to pick a single fave it would be this one)

Favorite nail art, in no particular order:

Turquoise nails (I was still figuring out my watermark at the time)

The one and only time so far that I really nailed (no pun intended) the spun sugar look

Three-color skitlette

31DC purple day- square glitter placement

31DC rainbow day- acrylic bubbles (not sure I'd have included this one but it got by far the most instagram likes so I guess people liked it!)

31DC inspired by art

Pink and black skittlete that I put together to showcase bats I got from BPS- bonus, bats!

And last but not least, the Cinderella gradient!

I'm not putting any of my own polishes on the list since so far there are so few. But hopefully I'll be launching another collection very soon! I have finished making it already, I just have to clean them up and prepare a launch!

See you in 2015!