Sunday, August 26, 2012

Glow in the Dark Laser Nails

Good evening everyone!  Sorry about two post in one day but I was just too excited on how this turned out and had to show you.  I have been wanting to try out laser nails for awhile now.  While on vacation my striping tape showed up and I finally got to use it today.  I combined it with some glow in the dark polish that I picked up last weekend and well, we will let the pics do the talking.


Sorry it's not super clear but you get the idea.

Let me show you how I achieved this look and trust me, you have got to try it out.  So much fun!  First up I started with a cheap Halloween Glow in the Dark Polish.  Now it took me about 5 coats to get an even finish but this stuff dried so quick it was no big deal.

Isn't that the cutest bottle ever!

This ended up being a really pretty blue color all on it's own.

Come on, you know that is badass!

After letting the polish set for a few hours a began to lay my striping tape.  I suggest doing one nail at a time and remembering the order you laid the tape, you will need to reverse order to remove.  I put just one coat of black polish on and then removed tape immediately.  After all my nails were done I went back with a clear coat and a fast dry top coat to smooth things out.  Looks pretty good in the daylight too.
Okay, laser nails are awesome! Super fun to do!

One last time, this is so cool.

Thanks for stopping by again today.  I just couldn't hold this one in.  Be sure to enter my giveaway and I will see you guys next time.




Etsy Shop of the Week: Wonder Beauty Products

Good afternoon everyone! Today I have another wonderful Etsy shop for you guys, Wonder Beauty Products.  This place has everything! They make beautiful polishes and sell the products to make your own franken blends.  I have bought from Wonder Beauty many times now and have had great experience each time.  Shipping times is generally a few days so be patient, it's worth it. First up I am going to show you guys some of the lovely blends I own.

First up is Be Gentle, It's My First Time.  I am a sucker for blues and this one is absolutely gorgeous! It is a super soft blue filled with various sizes of ice blue and champagne glitter and then has a splash of gold color dust. The application was super easy and got a very even coating of glitter.  This polish is very sheer so with out any undies it took three coats.  Well worth the layers and with a fast dry top coat I was ready to go in no time.

Be Gentle, It's My First Time

Macro of Be Gentle

Label

Again this was three coats total but layers great!

You can see in this picture all the pretty glitters. Soft color for any time use.

Next up for you guys is Joy Ride.  I was really excited about this one.  The color combo just seemed perfect to me.  This is a purple gray base with various sizes of white and black hex glitter, and purple and blue small glitter.  It did take me four coats to get a somewhat even finish but again with a fast dry top coat I was doing laundry within 30 mins. I would recommend using a white base on this one just to get a little more longevity out of the bottle.

Joy Ride

Macro of Joy Ride

Label

Again this was four coats total.  I love how the glitter layers.

Here is a better pic of all the different sizes glitters.  The large glitter laid super easy and once I put my top coat on I had a smooth finish.

Again Wonder Beauty also sells supplies to mix your own special blends.  I have personally used their suspension base and would say it easily compares to all the big name brands out there and right in line on the price.  You can buy pre-filled bottle too which makes for a great way to play around for the first time.  Be on the lookout for new products coming out next month, the Pin-Up collection is amazing! Check out Beauty Wonder Products on Etsy and be sure to message them to get on their mailing list for upcoming specials. 

Be sure to enter my giveaway before you leave.  See you guys next time and thanks for stopping by.


Monday, August 20, 2012

It's Real 18K Gold!

Good afternoon everyone!  As many of you know last week was a little quiet due to me being on vacation celebrating my 10 year wedding anniversary.  We spent a week just relaxing and enjoying some sunny beaches.  For our anniversary my husband took me to Ulta and Sephora, first time at both, to do a little shopping.  At checkout he surprised me with a bottle of It's Real 18K Gold!  This stuff is truly as awesome as you would think it would be.  Also while on vacation I received my Julep mystery box and in it I got Molly, a beautiful red, so it seemed appropriate to pair these two up.

Molly

Macro of Molly

Label

Can you believe this was only 1 coat! I love this red!

I have been searching for a good red color and I think I have finally found it.

Ok now it's time for the good stuff.  It's Real 18K Gold is an awesome top coat.  I would suggest being very careful when applying this polish.  I noticed to much pressure or to many brush strokes would cause the gold to break up a little.  I would also probably not recommend shaking the bottle because of the gold being so delicate.  You want those big chunks, trust me.

It's Real 18K Gold

Macro of It's Real 18K Gold

The name says it all!

I put on two coats to get a full coverage plus a fast dry top coat.  I love it!

How gorgeous!

Now the It's Real 18K Gold is expensive but come on, it's real gold!  I didn't have anything like this in my collection or really anything that compares to it.  I did see the other day that Zoya is going to be offering a gold polish in yellow or white so I will certainly be keeping my eye out for that one.  Hope you guys enjoyed my little pics and looking forward to chatting it up in the future.  Thanks so much for stopping by!











Sunday, August 19, 2012

Etsy Shop of the Week: The Glitter Source

Good afternoon everyone!  Today I have for you guys the shop The Glitter Source.  These guys are awesome.  I have bought from them many times and every time their service is top notch.  Super fast shipping, great communication, and wonderful products.  I have bought some of my solvent resistant glitters from them and yet to have any issues.  They also offer many other glitters which would be great for nail art or any of your other craft projects.

They have a good selection of solvent resistant shapes which are perfect for mixing into your polish to give a cool new look.

Again they also have a ton of other shapes that you could hand place and give that extra sparkle to your nails or other crafty goods.

Check this out, they have real gold leaf! Again do not mix this into polish but hand place on to your nail and with a little clear top coat you could have a unique finish.

Be sure to check out the sample set. Perfect for individual use!


Please stop by their shop and check out all the goodies they have to offer.  Added bonus for you followers, with every purchase mention Model City Nails blog in the comments section and you get a FREE trio sample pack.  Just let them what colors you would like to try out.  The sample packs run 1.5" x 1.5" bags. How awesome is that? Thanks again for stopping by and be sure to follow my blog for more upcoming Etsy features and much more.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Etsy Shop of the Week: Beach Plum Cottage

Good evening, ladies!  I am so excited to present my first Etsy shop of the week.  Now this shop does not sell nail products so, to tie the two together, I matched my nails to one of my favorite items I own made by Maggie.  Beach Plum Cottage is a collection of awesome handmade items by Maggie.  Last Christmas I discovered her shop through communications on Reddit.  I immediately fell in love with her shop and had to have some of her products.  I ended up with two scarfs and a cap for myself, a scarf for my mother, and one for my sister in law.  My favorite is pictured below with matching nails.  I plan on doing a lot more shopping this winter for gifts and personal items for myself.


Also at Beach Plum Cottage you can get some super cute jewelry, headbands, and many more accessories!  All of her stuff is handmade and uses the best materials available.  See something you like but not in the color you want just let her know.  I wanted a pink scarf for my mom but didn't have exactly what I was looking for.  After a few emails and photos of supplies I was able to pick out the perfect color combo.



Another cute idea is custom ear buds.  You pick the colors and she'll make them just for you.  No more boring ear buds! I don't know what type of ear buds she uses but I'll bet she would work with you to customize your own set for those who want the best sound possible.

Now I have to talk about the amazing stuffed animals she hand makes.  I want one of these so bad and I am not even a kid!  This would be the perfect gift for just about anyone, hint hint....


I hope everyone will take the time to head over to Beach Plum Cottage and pay her a visit.  Added bonus for you guys, use code FIREWATERHEART for 15% off you order.  Stock up now for those cute holiday gifts that everyone will want!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Sunset Nails by Siobhann

Tonight I have a super cute walk through to create sunset nails.  Siobhann has some of the cutest nail art and I just had to share.  I hope to bring more features of her nail art in the future.  If this is something you guys would like to see more of just let me know.


For the sunset nails we used a total of four colors.  We have Sinful Colors Let's Meet and Tapping Nails, Sally Hansen HD Digital, and a black nail are pen.  First up we use the Sinful Colors Let Meet.


With this color we needed to go with two coats to get a good vibrant yellow.  Do you see the sunset yet? Next up is Tapping Nails.


With a fresh clean make up sponge Siobhann dabbed the color on leaving just a small amount of the yellow showing.  Now she did clean up before taking this photo by just using a q-tip and a small amount of non-acetone remover. I see the sunset forming!  Now for the last color in the sunset is Sally Hansen HD Digital.


Again used a make up sponge and dabbed the Digital on.  You do not need to use much polish.  Here is a pic of the make up sponge used.


This was used for both hands.  You don't need much at all so be careful.  I would recommend using a sheet of paper to practice before trying just to be safe.  I would hate for you to glob paint on to a perfect base and give up hope.  Now for the finish product.......


Isn't that the cutest nails ever!  She used her nail art pen to draw some awesome palm trees to finish up the sunset look.  Again take your time and you could easily pull this off.  Makes me want a frozen drink with an umbrella.

Thanks for stopping by this evening and hope you enjoyed the little walkthrough.  With patients and practice you can pull this off just in time for those end of summer parties.  Good evening everyone!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Color Club Blue-Ming and Model City Marigold

Tonight I have a summer blend by Color Club and one from Model City.  The results weren't exactly what I was going for but ended up reminding me of an easter egg.  First up is Color Club Blue-ming.  I really was wanting this to be more of a sky blue color but ended up having a heavy green tint.  Color isn't bad just not what I had in mind.  Polish was ok to apply, nothing to rave about.  I received this as a mini in one of my Birchbox's and finally had the chance to use it.  On to the pics.

Blue-Ming



This was three coats with a fast dry top coat.  

Again this color was more green than what I had wanted but still a nice color.  It was a vibrant color and had a very even finish.  I have a few Color Club bottles in my collection and are a decent brand.  Especially if you have a Ross close by, you can pick up 7 bottle packs for less than $10!

 Next up is Marigold by Model City Polish.  I just went with one coat as a top coat.  The green hexes made the green of the polish stand out even more.  Marigold is just a fun quick top coat.  You can pick Marigold up at my etsy shop, Marigold.

Marigold


This was one generous coat of Marigold followed up with a fast dry top coat.

This certainly was not my favorite combo.  Maybe if it was closer to spring I could have enjoyed it more.  Not the summer feel I was looking for.

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know what you guys would like to see more or less of.  Starting Sunday will be my Etsy shop of the week.  I hope to over the next few months introduce the indie world a little more.  There are some great people on there making wonderful products and I would like to share my experience with them and their stuff.  Hope you guys will take a moment each week and take a look.  It's time to get back to the basics.  I like my commercially made items as much as the next person but there is something special about a homemade piece.  A majority of the stuff I have bought on there is better made, better customer service, and reasonably priced. Good evening everyone!


Monday, August 6, 2012

Icing J'adore and NYC Matte Me Crazy

Good evening everyone!  Tonight I have one that I have owned for a few months and one I purchased this week.  Also I am going to give a try to hand placing glitter tonight.  Love to know your thoughts on this one.

First up is the oldie, Icing's J'adore.  This is such a pretty baby blue cream with a hint of green in certain lighting.  J'adore has a great milky finish that I just love.  This polish goes on super smooth and only took two coats to get a solid finish.
Icing J'adore

Macro of J'adore



Only two coats and looks great!

Now time for NYC Matte Me Crazy.  I have been hunting for a good matte top coat for some time now.  I really wanted to find Essie Matte About You but it was no where to be found locally.  This week I went to Target to do some of my weekly shopping and finally caved in and bought NYC brand.  For $2 I wasn't expecting much and boy was I surprised.  This stuff is great!!!!!  It went on super easy and dried at a reasonable speed.  I normally use fast dry top coats so it was hard to sit still but I managed to do it.  Either way I am going to make another trip to Target and buy a few spare bottles because I know I am going to use this one a lot.  Time for pics.

NYC Matte Me Crazy

Macro of Matte Me Crazy


First time adding loose glitter so it's not perfect but still pretty darn cute.

As you can see I have a slight smudge, I just can't sit still!

So there you go, cheap matte polish is awesome!  If you like the look of matte polish I recommend buying this top coat.  Thanks again and hope you guys have a great night!