LITTLE MERMAID NAIL ART!

I have something to show you guys that I am SO EXCITED ABOUT! I can barely believe that *I* am responsible for this.











These babies are my DISNEYLAND nails!

I did so much I'm not sure where to begin.

My right hand (and my left middle finger) is a custom mixed of soak-off gels because I didn't have the perfect color. It's mostly RCM "Who Are You Wearing" and "Dress for Success" mixed, with a little white added in. I stamped it with RA-111 and Urban Outfitters "Green Holo" (so creatively named).

My left hand went a little like this:
Thumb: Ariel's hair using SensatioNail "Taupe Tulips" as a base with L.A. Colors red and red glitter nail art stripers plus LA Colors "Hi-Lite" striper and a teeny bit of Ulta "Sun-Sational" for the star. It's hard to tell in the pictures but the two yellows gave the star a bit of depth.

Index finger: Shell bra! Using SensatioNail "Taupe Tulips" as a base and OPI "Funky Dunkey" and an unnamed love&beauty purple for the shells. It was way easier than I expected it to be! This is what I thought would be the most difficult and it ended up being a breeze. There may be more nail art in my future!

Ring finger: FLOUNDER! Used SensatioNail "Taupe Tulips" as a base and completely covered it with Ulta "Sun-Sational" and painted the stripes using L.A. Color stripers in "Blue Glitter" and "Teal Glitter" (more creative names).

Pinky: Sebastian's eyes used Sally Hansen "Red My Lips" as a base and a dotting tool with black and white. Pretty simple but so perfect!

Basically I'm so excited about this I can barely make words! I found several Little Mermaid manis via Pinterest (of course!) and put together what I thought was cool and what I thought I was actually capable of doing with my very limited nail art skills. I borrowed mostly from these two from The Nail Network and Nails at Home. I also was really inspired by this one and the less literal take on everything.

Because a Disneyland trip isn't complete without PICTURES here are a couple more:








I missed the exclusive 15-minute preview of Oz that was playing in CA Adventure but I ended up seeing it yesterday. It was great! The original Wizard of Oz is my favorite favorite favorite movie (followed by the Little Mermaid) and while this one didn't come close, I did like it a lot. I've never done Oz-themed nails, so that may be in the works.

Up next: St. Patrick's Day greens!

Stitches nails!

This is: CND Stickey as base coat, one coat of Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail "Espresso Bean", one coat Gelish top coat, alcohol wipe, Revlon "Golden" stamped with Bundle Monster plate 225, plus a coat of Poshe top coat. The pictures above show direct light, indirect light, and shade.

Last year was my first year going to Stitches West, a convention for knitters, crocheters, spinners, and fiber lovers of all other sorts. I went this year, prepared for being totally overwhelmed with gorgeous wooly things of every variety. While I ended up going down the rabbit hole and deciding to finally give spinning a try, I managed to make it out of there without too much damage to my wallet. Mostly, I got to see and meet some amazing humans at the LSG meetup.


(not my photo, click thru to flickr for the owner's feed with MORE pictures of us!)

Last year, I was asked quite a bit about my nails. (And I had a really awesome manicure so you can imagine why people asked about it.)  So I knew I had to do something pretty cool this year! Since I hadn't stamped in a while, I figured that was the way to go.

This manicure was inspired by another knitter, Amoena. She's also a polish blogger! (Although her blog is in Finnish. Google translate is your friend! The stripped-down tumblr version in English is here.) She has created some gorgeous stamped manis that look like tapestry like this one and this gorgeous beauty. I find myself admiring her work a lot and decided to try my hand at doing something tapestry-like and sort of tonal. I was already wearing SensatioNail 'Espresso Bean' and I thought gold would go great with it. I was right! I did audition 4 or 5 golds before I hit it out of the park with "Golden". Orly "Luxe" was my back-up in case nothing else worked out. We all know it stamps like a dream!

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

SensatioNail Espresso Bean

This is: CND Stickey as base boat, one coat Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail 'Espresso Bean', and one coat of Gelish top coat.

This is the first SensatioNail polish I've picked up that is actually accurate to the box color (which is why I included the box picture!). I hope that's a good sign going forward, because some of their packaging is pretty misleading. (I'm talking about you Purple Orchid! You are not a warm purple!)

I LOVE rich browns and this is one of my favorite brown polishes ever. It has just enough shimmer to keep it from looking black or too dark. The micro-shimmer is multi-color and I found gold, red, and a bit of green in it. I had a nail chip and redid it with the same color. THAT is how I know I like a polish. Especially when it comes to gel! I highly recommend this if you are a fan of brown and/or darker colors.

This was an ideal base for stamping and I have a forthcoming post with a ton of pictures! My first stamped manicure since October!

*All products featured in this review were purchased by me.

NOTD: a-England Lady of the Lake

This is: CND Stickey base coat, one coat Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac', two coats of a-England 'Lady of the Lake' and one coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat. 

I layer regular polish over gel A LOT, as you guys have probably noticed. This is not a particularly good example of that technique. I've got tip wear as well as the gel still showing at the cuticle. I usually stick to a color that's closer to the gel's color and this shows why! If it isn't perfect, you can tell! I usually have only minimal tip wear, and this combo ended up with a lot. 

All that aside, this was my first wearing of an a-England polish. And I LOVE THEM! I bought three when the £6 promo was going on: this one, Saint George, and Dragon. I anticipate using Dragon for an upcoming St. Patrick's Day mani and I can't WAIT to get Saint George on my hands. (Too bad I'm going to Disneyland next week and DISNEY THINGS will be on the nails! This purple is dark and the holo shows up well in bright light (even bright artificial light). It's rather scattered, which I prefer. (Kaleidoscopes over OMGs any day!) 

Verdict: If you don't own any a-Englands, GET SOME! I know they aren't the easiest to get a hold of, but they are worth it! 

*Some of the products featured in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer. All opinions expressed are my own uncensored, regardless. 

SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac' giveaway!

Win yourself a bottle of SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac'!


Open to US shipping addresses ONLY. (Sorry, International peeps. Shipping is outrageous right now.)

Two winners will win one bottle each of SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac' gel nail polish.  Winners will be contacted via email and if no response is received within 48 hours, new winner(s) will be contacted until a response is received.

Please don't enter if you don't have or plan to get a gel nail polish system because you NEED a UV/LED lamp to cure this polish. It will not dry like normal polish. If you don't do gel yourself but plan on giving it to a friend who does or something like that, that is totally cool. I just don't want anyone disappointed that the polish they won doesn't work right.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valentine's nails + giveaway info!

This is CND Stickey base coat, Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac', Gelish top coat, stamped with Konad m59 plate and this unnamed love&beauty wine-colored polish.

Stamping over gel is so much fun! It's so easy to clean up any mistakes without having to worry that you're going to damage the base color. I really don't know why I don't do it more often.

This is NOT my typical mani, as I'm sure anyone that has read this blog for any amount of time can tell. The reason for it? Two-fold! One is that I had to to hearts for TartanHEARTS! I spent quite a while looking through plates picking out which hearts to use. The second, and most important reason, is because I'm going to be giving away two bottles of 'Heirloom Lilac' and I needed a way to showcase it!



That's right! SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac' will be up for grabs! The giveaway will have its own dedicated post coming very soon. It will be a rafflecopter giveaway!

*Some of the products featured in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer. All opinions expressed are my own uncensored, regardless. 

Zoya "Storm"

This is CND Stickey base coat, Gelish base coat, three coats of Gelish "Black Shadow", Gelish top coat, one coat of Zoya "Storm" and Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

I've been going through a big dark nail polish phase and this is perfect! Black with just enough brightness. This polish isn't as super fantastic in low light, but in the sun it GLOWS. If you aren't into dark polish, this one probably isn't for you. If, like me, you could wear dark polish every day and never get tired of it, you should probably pick this one up.

I was amazed that this only took one coat over the gel. Usually shimmery/small glitter polishes are pretty streaky with only one coat but this wasn't at all. I've done a bit of color-on-color type layering and this stands out of the crowd.

This polish is part of my first ever Zoya purchase- I got this one (Storm), Shawn, and Ivanka. I'm very impressed with the quality of these polishes and I *will* be buying more Zoya in the future. I guess I finally see what all the fuss is about! And with all the awesome promos they have, you can't beat it!

*All products featured here were purchased by me for wear and review.

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. 

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

Bruce
Bruce of Kinnaird, Ancient
California

County Clare
Comrie, Dress Gold (2, 

Cornish National
Cunningham, Dress Lime
Cunningham, Dress Purple (2, 
Cunningham, Dress Royal (2, 3
Cunningham, Dress Tangerine (2, 3,
Culloden, Dress Red
Davidson, Ancient (2, 
Davidson, Modern (2,
DunBroch
Drummond of Perth, Modern
Erskine, Dress Turquoise and White
Erskine, Dress Black and White

Fraser (2, 
Gordon, Dress
Graham of Airth (2, 
Grant

Irish National
Lamont
Lennox, Dress Purple (2, 3, 
Lennox, Dress Red (2,
Lennox, Dress Teal
Lennox, Dress Turquoise (2, 3, 
Lochnagar, Dress
Longniddry, Special Dress Purple
Longniddry, Special Dress Royal (2, 
MacDuff
MacGregor, Dress Burgundy
MacGregor, Dress Purple (2,
MacGregor, Dress Raspberry (2, 
MacGregor, Dress Turquoise
MacIntosh
MacKellar, Dress Cerise (2, 
MacKellar, Dress Lime
MacKellar, Dress Purple
MacKellar, Dress Royal
MacLaren

MacLean of Duart (2,
MacLean of Duart, Ancient
MacLean of Duart, Hunting Ancient (2,
MacLean of Duart, Dress Burgundy
MacLeod
MacNeil of Barra
MacPherson, Dress Black (2, 
MacPherson, Dress Blue
MacPherson, Dress Burgundy
MacPherson, Dress Green
MacPherson, Dress Red
MacPherson, Dress Royal
MacPherson, Dress Turquoise (2, 3,
MacRae, Dress
MacRae, Dress Blue
MacRae, Dress Lime (2, 
MacRae, Dress Purple

MacRae, Hunting
MacRae of Conchra, Dress Purple
MacRae of Conchra, Dress Raspberry (2, 
MacRae of Conchra, Dress Teal
MacRae of Conchra, Dress Turquoise (2, 
MacThomas
Menzies, Special Dress Black (2,

Menzies, Dress Cerise (2, 

Menzies, Dress Raspberry (2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
Menzies, Special Dress Red (2, 
Menzies, Dress Turquoise (2, 
Milne, Dress Green

Napier
Nova Scotia, Dress (2,
Oliver, Dress (2, 
Pride of Scotland, Dress (2, 3, 
Rose, Dress
Ross, Dress Hunting (2,
Scotia, Dress Tangerine
Scott, Dress Green
Scott, Dress Lime
Scott, Dress Navy
Scott, Dress Purple
Scott, Dress Raspberry (2, 
Scott, Dress Red (2,
Scott, Dress Turquoise
Stewart, Black (2, 3, 4
Stewart, Dress (2,

Stewart, Dress Purple (2,

Stewart, Royal (2
Sunnart, Dress Sapphire (2, 
Sutherland, Dress Wine
Yarrow, Dress Purple (2, 

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/ 

The last manicure of 2012 ...

And the first of 2013!



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.