07 January 2013

twee and honey "Tutu" 061 over black

twee and honey "Tutu' 061 over black

twee and honey "Tutu' 061 over black

twee and honey "Tutu' 061 over black

This is CND Stickey as base coat, Gelish base coat, three coats of Gelish "Black Shadow", one coat of twee and honey "Tutu", with one coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

After wearing such a light, glittery mani for a week I needed something dark. I knew I wanted to do black gel and spent at least 15 minutes sitting in front of my Helmer looking through my un-photographed polish (which I have a lot of). I settled on this one and I am so glad I did!

"Tutu" is from the t&h 'All Hallows' collection, which I didn't even realize until I looked it up to link here. (I also didn't realize that Ms. Let Them Have Polish did this same mani, although she did two coats.) Though it is part of that collection, it is more than appropriate for any time of the year. There is glitter of several sizes and colors in hot pink, light pink, teal-y. There are flakies. There are HOLOGRAPHIC PINK BUTTERFLIES! (see last picture) One of my favorite things about t&h polishes is that often there are little bits that don't even show up on the side of the bottle but you end up with one or two on your nails. (Like the little orange hearts in "Viscera".) There are always little awesome surprises awaiting you with this polish!

The over-all effect of this mani is super shiny, although it didn't show up that way in the pictures. Which is okay, because it showed the actual colors and character of the polish without being too glare-y.

*Some of the polish here was provided to me by the manufacturer. All opinions are my own, without influence and without compensation. 

06 January 2013

List of tartans I've used for custom orders.

Custom tartans have already been done in these tartans:

Click through any of these for pictures of the finished product.


Alma College (2
Ailsa, Dress Gold (2,

Airisaidh Hebridean, Dress Red
Buchanan (2
Buchanan, Dress Red (2
Buchanan, Dress Turquoise

I've done more, and am constantly updating this page as I make more and get pictures of them. For more pictures, my flickr set of tartan jewelry is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bessicajach/sets/72157630690543548/ 

02 January 2013

The last manicure of 2012 ...

And the first of 2013!

New Year's nails!

This is: CND Stickey, Gelish base coat, two coats of ProGel 'Trophy Cup', Gelish top coat, three coats of China Glaze 'Glistening Snow' or 'Angel Wings' on the accent nail, a coat of Jordana quick shine top coat, and a coat of Poshe top coat.

Out of the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection, 'Winter Holly' was the only polish I knew I had to have right off the bat. I actually saw these two in store and didn't pick them up. Until I saw swatches. Then I knew! These two are amazing on the nail. 'Glistening Snow' is like wearing diamonds on your nails! The holo glitter really makes it. These are relatively thick glitters (which I like). I was worried about them being dupes for 'Fairy Dust' and 'Golden Enchantment' but they are no where close. I'd say the closest thing would be the Milani holos, since those are relatively non-linear and have glittery sparkle in all light like these do. And that is a major compliment! I stop to just stare at my nails and move them around in the light pretty often, so that's the best thing I could say about a manicure.

Verdict: If you don't have these, get them! (If you can, get the set with a free shot glass!)

*All products featured in this post were purchased by me for wear and review. 

01 January 2013

2012 year end round-up!

I've come a long way in 2012, as you're about to see. I started out with some pretty sloppy work and am very proud to say that I have cleaned things up quite impressively!

Here are some of my favorites from 2012:

70s mani
From January: 1970s nails


Revlon Midnight with Kleancolor Afternoon Picnic on top, mattefied.
From February: matted glitter nails


Kleancolor Chunky Holo Fuchia over Rimmel Black Satin.
Done in February but posted in March: reggae nails

Icing Magnetix - green
My first ever magnetic from all-green March.

Also in March, I started TartanHearts Jewelry! Mostly because I needed an excuse to buy more polish.

China Glaze 'Trendsetter'
I don't care how much hate it gets, I'll always love China Glaze "Trendsetter". Also from March.

my first at-home gel mani
I started doing gel in April and never looked back! (and this polish will be part of my first nails of 2013!)

gel swatch updates
By June, I'd already started on a gel stash.

my Fourth of July mani!
I got a little crazy in July.

Halloween/NLDS manicure
October was Orange October and my manicures helped my beloved San Francisco Giants win the World Series!

Giants/Halloween leopard print mani
This one helped them win the NLCS.

twee and honey 'Viscera' over black.
Seriously, it was a big month for my nails. This polish has tiny orange hearts! I still can't get over that.

Election Day nails
Things got simple again in November and I tried the 'scrubbing in' method of wearing gel with glitter and loved it!

Gelish - Runway For Your Money with glitter scrubbed in
See? It's good in every color.

China Glaze 'Winter Holly' with no top coat.
December got a little different again ...

Christmas nails featuring The Hungry Asain 'Candy Cane'
... but it's finished off pretty strong with my Christmas nails.

I'll have one final 2012 mani after this: my New Year's nails. I just finished them up before I started working on this. After all, what better thing to do when your nails are still wet than a little typing?

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 brings as much nail-related awesomeness as 2012 did!