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Water marble win!

Water Marble win!

Hi polish lovers!  I HAD to share one of my favorite, and most successful manicures to date!   If you're unfamiliar with water marbling, but want to try, I suggest you tubing a video before you begin. 
For this one, I used a base color of Color Club's "Sweet Pea" from the blossoming collection released this spring.  The turquiose is Zoya's "Wednesday", also from this Spring, and the blue is Barry M "Indigo". 

The real win here is the accent dots, in my opinion.  I first saw this in a facebook group called "Polish-aholics Anonymous".    I couldn't find the original, but this just elevates the look so much.   I will probably almost always dot my marbles from now on. 

Thanks for reading!

OPI Black Spotted - three ways

If you aren't an avid nail blog stalker, chances are you don't know about this little beauty.   Originally only released in France (though now appearing in some Holland Sephora stores), Black Spotted replaced the crackle polish that came out with OPI's Spiderman collection.   My friend Candice in France was kind enough to snag one for me, and I am obsessed, to say the least.   

Let me show you why:

This is OPI Black Spotted over Zoya Poppy.   

Like "shatter" or "crackle" effect nail polishes, it is meant to be applied in a single, quick layer over completely dry polish.  The spotted effect is random and mesmerizing.   Black Spotted paints out almost like a watercolor, not like traditional nail polish, and a very thin coat is suggested. 

This one is pretty addictive, so of course I had to explore other layerings.  I googled, and couldn't find a single image of OPI Black Spotted over glitter.   So I dug out a really sparkly one - Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe.   It took four coats to get good coverage of that one alone, but the effects were worth it.  

 (Sorry, my camera likes to be cruel.  "Oh, you thought your cuticles were moisturized and that you did a good clean up job?   Suckaaah!)

(detail)

The most recent way I've worn it, though, is over a good duochrome.  I'd love to have painted it out over OPI's green Just Spotted the Lizard, but I don't have it.  So I pulled out one of my precious favorites, Sally Hansen Nail Prisms in Amber Ruby.   This polish shifts depending on the light, from a golden saffron to a crimson fuschia color.  

Observe:

I painted in different directions on my left hand, to see if altering the brush stroke would change the spotty effect.   It did, but not enough to warrant the mess it made IMO.  But, if you'd like to try, here are the results - with arrows indicating the direction of the brush stroke.

I hope that OPI chooses to release this in the US, and that they release it in more colors as well.   Do you love it?  Which layering is your favorite?  Thanks for reading!

Dear Africa...

Hey friends!   Just wanted to share something fun I got to do recently - our church has a longstanding relationship with the churches in Sierra Leone, our pastor usually visits at least once a year.  This last month, we were blessed by a visit from one of the pastors we have had relationship as a church with.  

He shared a lot about what is going on in their country, and I felt compelled to send something home to him and the ladies in his family - so I gathered a few of my favorites and some that seemed destined to live in a place with more sun that Oregon gets, and here was the final result:
Sinful Colors Kismet Elated, Zoya Reva, Julep Diane and Chloe (hidden underneath), Color Club Age of Aquarius, Finger Paints Tiffany Imposter, Sinful Colors Cinderella, Loreal Owl's Night, Zoya Tru, Pure Ice Oh Baby, Essence Glorious Aquarius.

I guess that they will be equally as excited to recieve the box I packaged them in (which I did for safe traveling), according to my pastor's wife.   She said that sometimes they bring bubbles, and everyone wants the box that the bubbles came in - the things you don't know until you experience them yourself, lol.   If it goes over well, I may try to send more the next time that they head over (*probably this fall). 

Grab your towel, the seas are shimmering!

I layered OPI DS Sapphire over yesterday's manicure, and the results are stunning!  I think you'll have to agree.   Really stunning, especially in the sun!

I also picked up some flocking powder, so here is my first flocked manicure.  Kinda like a beach towel, don't you think?

Pool Party!

It's sunny in Oregon!   Now, while it's only warm enough for the pool about a month and a half out of the year here, the sunshine is certainly inspiring.  My latest manicure totally reminds me of a pool party.  Or a tropical beach right before a shark attack.  Take your pick!

The base color is two coats of FingerPaints "Tiffany Imposter", new to my collection.  It's just a teeny bit dustier than it appears on camera, but this is a pretty close color representation!   Sponged down from the tips is Lynderella's discontinued "The Glittering Crowd".  I just might see what it looks like with a layer of the lovely OPI "DS Sapphire" tomorrow!!

The girl and the poet

Hello friends!   Today, I've got a lovely little combo for you with a short life expectancy.  China Glaze Poetic meets my favorite, Zoya Harlow.   This is two coats of Poetic, striping tape and then a thick coat of Harlow.  Peel off the striping tape and you've got a stunner!   Hope you love it!