Aly Loves Lacquer

Hi, gals and guys!

At first, I was at a loss when coming up with an idea for this week. But then, I was looking through my press samples that I have to swatch, and landed on the most gorgeous lime green crème. Inspired by Barielle Green Apple, I wanted to continue the theme. Over two coats of Green Apple, I added one coat of Sinful Colors Call Me Later for a nice sprinkling of green and gold glitters.

So ... I missed last week :( Oops. I really need to get myself together with the whole blogging thing! Thanks for sticking with me :D

This week I received an amazing packing from Nicole from Nicole Gets Nailed in a St. Patrick's Day nail exchange. And she did a great job picking colors! I was SO excited to see Keep Calm, Paint On in my package. This shade really stood out to me in China Glaze's Avant Garden collection, and I am so grateful for the gift from Nicole! Thanks :)

So, let's take a look. I was pretty impressed with Keep Calm, Paint On. It looks like it would have a difficult formula, being that it's both pastel and shimmery. However, Keep Calm, Paint On by China Glaze was very manageable! This is 2 coats.

Hi, there! Here I am, once again almost a full week late on the ABC Challenge. Boooo, Aly! Good thing I have tomorrow free because of Spring Break -- I'll definitely be posting my "J" manicure then.

For "I", I went with one of the coolest (in my opinion, of course) brands of nail polish: Illamasqua. Sadly, I only own 3 Illmasquas, but I love all of them. Plus, I purchased them at the Sephora in Times Square with my dad, which adds a little sentimental value.

The color I chose is called Lament, and it is a bold pink that definitely leans towards coral. I like the formula on Illamasqua Lament -- it's thin, but in a workable way. I used 3 thin, easy coats and this polish was super shiny!


So creamy and pretty! I like Lament because it manages to be somewhat "appropriate" while still being a bit bold. It stands out without veering into "Oh god, what is she wearing?!" territory. I find this shade to be very chic!

Do you have a favorite Illamasqua polish?

- Aly

P.S. Don't forget to check out the other ABC Challenge bloggers' posts!

Hello!

I am currently smack dab in the middle of Midterms Week here at SLU. Though exams are rough, I decided to take a little study break to get back up to date with the ABC Challenge. I actually did these nails on time, but couldn't get around to posting them till now. But I am really loving these, so I hope you like them!

All I could think of for "H" was hearts. I tried to make the simple idea a little more interesting by stamping hearts in neon polish over white for a very bright, eye-catching manicure. My white base is a plain white crème from Kiss. I borrowed it from my roommate since I couldn't find my favorite white crème, and this polish was a disaster! It was streaky and smelled terribly! I do not recommend it at all.
For the stamping, I used BM03 from the Bundle Monster set released in 2010. The bright coral hearts are China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, one of my favorite neons. The hot pink is Rei Momo by Mattése Elite, another gorgeous neon! Finally, I added more traditional red hearts with Essie Aperitif.

Hi, guys! So, I am over a week late on this. I guess that's what real life will do to you. But here I am!

I chose to go kind of simple for the "G" challenge, because I have been incredibly busy lately. So, I settled on "G" is for glitter. My favorite color is purple, even though I don't often wear it on my nails. My base color is Charged Up by Orly, which my DBF bought me as a gift :) I love how each polish has its own little story. It took 3 thin coats to be opaque.

The glitter is China Glaze Marry a Millionaire. I think the name of this polish is so funny, but it is fitting for such a decadent shade. Purple is the color of royalty, you know ;) I'm wearing one coat of Marry a Millionaire over Orly Charged Up.

- Aly

It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time for another ABC Challenge post. This week we have "F" and I chose to do nail foils. Transfer foils are one of my favorite nail art options. They create such a gorgeous look, but aren't hard to do at all!

The best way to apply foils is to paint a matching base color first, so if the foil doesn't transfer perfectly you have something under it. My base color today is butter LONDON Come to Bed Red. Then I applied foil adhesive, and waited a few minutes. Finally, I cut the foil into little strips -- one for each nail. I apply them by pressing them down with a Q-Tip and then peeling off the foils. If you are interested in a tutorial, let me know!

This foil is from Dollar Nail Art and it's called Lava Tides. It's gorgeous! Red and shiny with holographic waves. I really love how this looks, and it is perfect for Valentine's Day! Trust me, this looks way prettier in person!

Hi, guys! Time for another weekly ABC Challenge post!

Today we have the letter "E." My creativity was not at its greatest, so I settled on using all Essence products to create a manicure. I only own 2 polishes by Essence, and I used both in this polka dot mani. My base color is Oh My Glitter!, a really pretty warm light purple with lots of shimmery flecks, but strangely no glitter. Odd. For the polka dots, I used Essence No More Drama, a very delicate lavender crème.

Hi, everybody! I've noticed a good amount of new followers lately, so welcome and hello!

I am back again with my weekly ABC Challenge post! This week we have the letter "C," so I decided to try out a trend I have been eyeing for a while now: caviar nails. Now, I know a certain brand with pretty little bows has caused a big uproar in the nail community due to their treatment of the caviar name. Despite all the drama, I was still interested in the look itself.

The brand I used for this caviar manicure is Nail Rock and the color is called Neptune. I purchased this set at Walgreens, but you can also get it from ebay here. The set had one nail polish and a pot of micro beads. It was really easy, but I definitely do not recommend this manicure as a long term look. It would be great for a date night or a night out dancing, though!

I am really excited about today's post! Some other lovely bloggers and I are taking part in an ABC Challenge. Each Wednesday, we will be posting a new manicure. Each week, we will move one letter further through the alphabet. I missed last week's letter, which was "A," but I am all ready for "B!"

This lovely polish is another from Lancôme's holiday offering. Bubbly Gold is similar in finish to Ginger Swing, but the color is more golden. To my eye, this shade has a bit of a copper cast to it. Again, beautiful color with a really easy application! This is 2 coats.