Shimmer Polish, PMTG, and a Midi Ring Skittlette!

So, I recently fell in love with the new craze of midi rings. When I bought myself one from Forever 21, I figured I should do a matching manicure!

I started with PolishMeToGo Liberty on my outer two nails (fun fact - this polish glows in the dark!), Essie Good as Gold on my middle finger, and OPI AmazON... AmazOFF on my ring finger. Then, with Shimmer Polish Jasmine, I made a gradient on my outer two nails and painted a light coat on my ring finger. Finally, I stamped BM410 with Julep Cleopatra.

I love how this stamp matched my ring perfectly! And the polishes work beautifully together. I really love this combination.

The gradients were surprisingly easy to make - I might have to do glitter gradients more often!

Here are the polishes I used.

You can buy PolishMeToGo at their online store, and Shimmer Polish on their website. What do you think of this manicure?

Some polishes were provided for my honest review.

Rainbow Honey Swatches and HK Girl Glisten and Glow Top Coat Overview

Hi guys! Today I have a double whammy for you - some swatches of some popular polishes from Rainbow Honey, and an overview of the latest obsession, HK Girl Glisten and Glow Super Shiny, Fast Drying Top Coat. I have heard so many amazing things about this top coat, so I decided to put it to the test by pairing it with some chunky glitter polishes from Rainbow Honey. You'll find my opinion about the top coat at the bottom of this post! Let's get started with the polishes:

Let's start with this gorgeous unreleased glitter topper called Papillon. This polish is going to be part of Rainbow Honey's spring collection, I believe. It is packed with girly pink holographic glitters and irridescent purple glitters in a bunch of different sizes, and even some holographic butterfly glitters as well! I am not usually attracted to girly polishes, but this one really caught my eye. I loved this combo with a dark pink base as well. Shown is two coats of Papillon over Julep Evelyn.

Next we have XOXO, a glitter topper from the Sweet Talk collection. This polish features metallic pink glitters and a bunch of holographic shimmer that looks insanely pretty over any base color. I paired one coat over OPI 4 in the Morning for the photo above.

Magic Cake is probably one of Rainbow Honey's most famous glitter toppers, featuring bright neon pink, blue, and lime green matte glitters in various shapes and sizes in a silver glittery base. Despite having some large glitters, this polish didn't require any fishing or holding upside down to get the glitters out. I think the matte glitters are just so light that they stay suspended in the polish without worry! This is another glitter that looks stellar over any color, but I chose to pair two coats with China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle for the swatch above.

The Kraken is another super popular polish by Rainbow Honey. It's a bright ocean blue jelly packed with shimmer and some blue, green, and gold hex glitters in various sizes. Shown above is two coats on its own, but I tried this polish over other colors, and it looked awesome! I recommend painting one to two coats over a dark blue or green for a cool effect - it'll look like a totally different polish, too!

And finally we have Sweet Talk, another polish from the Sweet Talk collection (and it's namesake!) It's a creamy white crelly filled with purple, red, and mint glitters, with a gorgeous pink shimmer throughout. Shown above is two coats, but if you want a more opaque look, you can pair it over white.

So now that you've seen all the polishes, let's talk about the top coat. All of the polishes I showed you today are pretty glitter heavy, which usually means some lumpiness on the nail. I'm pleased to report that Glisten and Glow smoothed out my nails completely with just one coat! It is a thicker top coat, but not as thick as Seche Vite, and it dries just as quickly. And can you believe the shine?! I know why people love it so much! I will let you guys know how it fares once I'm about halfway through the polish - thats usually when Seche Vite starts to give me problems with shrinkage and thickness. So far, I can tell you I'm extremely impressed and I will definitely be reaching for this top coat before any other.

You can buy the Rainbow Honey polishes here for $10 USD per bottle, and stay updated with the Rainbow Honey Facebook page for new releases and information.

Glisten and Glow retails for $6.95 USD per bottle, which you can purchase here, and don't forget to follow their Facebook page as well for news and updates.

These products were provided for my honest review.

Autumn Chevrons with Nail Vinyls

Hi guys! Today I have a simple autumn chevron manicure to show you guys. I don't usually go with this kind of color scheme, but I like the way these polishes look together!

I used OPI What Wizardry Is This, a molten brown textured polish, and Julep Lisa, which usually looks gray to me, but paired with this color, it almost looks green. To make the chevrons, I used Nail Vinyls. They make chevrons super easy!

So what do you think of this color combination?

31DNAC Day 16: Tribal Print Nails

Today's nails are a prompt I have been looking forward to since the beginning of the challenge - tribal nail art! I decided to incorporate some Halloween colors, since the holiday is coming up soon!

I started with a base of Zoya Dove, and then with a small nail art brush, I painted using Julep Sasha, OPI Jade is the New Black, and China Glaze That's Shore Bright, as well as black acrylic paint for the lines. It's not perfect, but I loved doing all the little details!

I love the idea of doing tribal print nails using seasonal colors! I love these colors together.

Here are the colors I used for this manicure.

Be sure to check out my previous challenge manicures here.

31DNAC Day 13: Animal Print Nails

Animal print nails are always fun! I decided to do zebra print for today's challenge.

I started with Julep Cleopatra on my index and pinky nails, and OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on the other two nails. I used blue and green acrylic paint to create the watercolor background, and then I used black acrylic paint for the zebra stripes. I also used some neon blue studs from Born Pretty Store.

Be sure to check out my previous challenge manicures here.

31DNAC Day 10: Gradient Nails

Today's nail art is gradient nails!

I decided to go with a skittle of sorts, starting with an alternating base color of Zoya Dove and Julep Valerie, and then sponging a gradient over the gray using OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! and Essie Licorice, and painting Zoya Dove over Julep Valerie with striping tape.

I really love Julep Valerie. It's a dark greenish teal jelly filled with gold shimmer and little blue hex glitters. It came in my October Maven box. You can sign up to be a Maven and get exclusive monthly polishes here.

Here are the colors I used.

Be sure to check out my previous challenge manicures here.

Neon and Gray Dotted Gradient

When I saw this manicure online, I was so impressed that I had to try it for myself. Of course, we all know I'm not extremely talented with a dotting tool, so let's just say I was "inspired" by this dotted gradient. Here's my attempt:

Man, what a frustrating manicure! I started with Julep Daria and dotted on China Glaze Highlight of My Summer. I'm glad that the green was opaque in one coat, otherwise I would have been even more frustrated! I had to redo almost every nail to make the dots perfect.

Here's a visual of the colors used. Hope you like it!

31DNAC Day 4: Green Nails

As promised, today's nails are much greener than my "yellow" nails! I decided to go with some simple but elegant stripes.

I am not entirely sure how I feel about this manicure, even though I love the colors. The base is Zoya Dove, and I used striping tape to paint with Zoya Giovanna and Julep Daria. I think Giovanna is a gorgeous color - it's part of Zoya's Fall 2013 Satins collection.

I also love the grays in this manicure. Julep Daria was part of my monthly Maven box for September, and it is such a great color to work with. You can sign up to be a Julep Maven here - just take the personality quiz so they can decide your style profile, and your first box will be free with the code FREEBOX.

Check out my previous challenge manicures here.

Yellow Gradient Nails!

Today's manicure is a simple gradient -

For the gradient, I used Colour Gossip Designer Shades as a base and blended using a sponge with L'Oreal Mango Mamma and Julep Rose. I painted my other nails with Essie Licorice.

I wish I had some gold studs to accent this mani with! But unfortunately all my studs and accents are silver :P What do you think of this gradient? I'm pretty proud of it!

Nautical Nail Art!

Hey guys! So I posted this manicure on my Instagram this morning, and I loved it so much!

I did these nautical nails as part of a collaboration with another Instagram nail artist. I used Orly Luxe, OPI I Saw... You Saw... We Saw... Warsaw!, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and Julep Claire for this manicure.

I love everything about this. The anchor was probably the hardest; I loved doing the seahorse! And of course, I had to add some chevrons!

Here is the manicure glossy - I like to add matte top coat with some nail art so that the glare of the light doesn't interfere in the photo!

What do you think?

Nautical Stripes and Studs

Ahoy there! Today's manicure is nautical! I have been so into this theme lately.

I used a base of Essie Rock the Boat, which has a lovely silver shimmer (you can see it in the bottle.) I taped it off with some striping tape and used Konad Red and Julep Char.

Then, I took some of my 2mm round studs from Born Pretty Store and stuck them onto my nail with top coat. (You can get 10% off your BPS order if you use the code RFL91 at checkout!)

What do you think of this nautical manicure?

Neon Nail Studs and Zebra Print

Today's manicure features some adorable blue neon nail studs from Born Pretty Store, the best online store for nail art accessories and polish.

When I was sent these studs for review, I decided that they would go well with some funky zebra print! I used Julep Claire and Essie Blanc for this simple and fun manicure.

These studs are flat 2mm circular pieces, and they come in several different colors, including pink and yellow! I chose color #4, but there is also a darker shade of blue available. These studs are even reusable! I just soak them in nail polish remover to get the residue off, and store them to use again!

I have a couple more cute manicure ideas with these studs, so keep an eye out. You can buy them and much more at the Born Pretty Store, and don't forget to use my 10% off code RFL91 at checkout. BPS has free international shipping!

Julep Maven July Bombshell Box.. And What It Means to Be A Julep Maven

Today I am going to give you an in-depth review of a brand I have been using for a long time, Julep. You might have seen this brand before in Sephora, retailing for $14 a bottle, and at a whopping 8mL (a bit more than half the size of a regular bottle of polish), it might not seem worth the price.

Well, let me tell you how I get my Julep polishes at an extreme discount - I became a Julep Maven. Signing up to be a Maven is easy and free - just take the Style Quiz (at the bottom of the page), and you are given a style profile to match your answers! You will quickly receive your introductory box of choice, and every month after that, you get to choose one of five beauty and polish boxes to be sent to you for just $19.99. Each box includes two polishes and a beauty product - or you can choose to be sent two beauty products, or three polishes.

Here is what a box looks like - this is the Bombshell box I got for the month of July:

This month's theme was "California Coast," so the polishes were all inspired by California sunsets. I chose the box with two polishes and a product (the third polish you see was an "add-on"- more on those in a bit!)
This month's box came with a full sized dry body oil, complete with instructions on how to use it! I haven't given a try yet, but it smells delicious!

Each month's box also comes with a small gift (this month it was green tea facial blotting papers) and a cute quote written on a card.

Here are the polishes I received:

This first color is Julep Joanna, a shimmery pastel purple with the slightest hint of bright purple flecks. Shown above is two easy coats without topcoat.

Next up is Julep Blakely, a dark shimmery duochrome that shows purple in direct light, and green in the shade. I wasn't able to get a good photo in the shade, but you can see a bit of the shift in this picture. I did get a photo of the direct light here:

Look at the difference! This color is definitely beautiful. Shown in the above photos is two easy coats, no top coat.

And last but certainly not least:

Julep Fireworks is a patriotic glitter topcoat that has red, silver, and blue glitters in verying sizes. Shown above is one coat of Fireworks over Julep Char (navy blue) and Essie Blanc. I chose to add Julep Fireworks as an add-on to my box. Add-ons are a great way to add to your Julep collection - with each month, you can choose up to three additional polishes or products to add to your monthly box. Each polish you add-on is just $4.99!

OVERALL:
Julep polish is beautiful, easy to use (wide brushes!) and the Maven deal is great for any polish addict. The best part is, the subscription is free and if you don't like any of the month's boxes, you can skip with no issue! There is no commitment to being a Maven and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
When you are a Maven, you can get a serious discount and free shipping on any Julep online order as well. I have been a Maven for almost a year now, and I don't plan on cancelling my subscription anytime soon!


Want to be a Julep Maven, too? You can join HERE. And to make it a bit more enticing, enter the coupon code FREEBOX to get your first box for free!
(You have to pay shipping for your introductory box, but the rest of your boxes and Julep purchases will have free shipping!)

Deadly Sins Challenge Day 9: Wrath

I know I skipped sloth, and I think it's funny because I was just too lazy to do it ;)

Anyway, this week's challenge is wrath, and the challenge prompt is to "get mad trying that technique you know is going to be a fail!" And who doesn't think of water marbles when they think of a gorgeous nail technique that's horribly difficult!

I used a base of Julep Sasha, and marbled with Essie Licorice and Confetti The Red Carpet. I imagined it to look like flames, but I'm incapable of controlling my water marbles haha. So it looks like flowers as usual.

Check out these other wrath manicures:

Deadly Sins Challenge Day 3: Gluttony

So I waited until the very last minute for this manicure because I have been totally dreading this day of the challenge, because the prompt is to "delight yourself with a sugar spun inspired manicure." Well, sugar spun nails are messy and gloopy and I am not sure if I really even think they look good at all! But I had to do the next sin, so I went with a chocolate covered strawberry manicure!

I used Julep Rose as a base, then used a dotting tool to create seeds. I used OPI Jade is the New Black and China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard for the leaves. And I topped it all off with Essie Don't Sweater It for the chocolate!

I do like the way it looks, but I can't keep this on my nails for too long!

I chose not to use top coat because I like the texture of the chocolate drizzle.

Here is the challenge sheet, for those of you who forgot!

Illustrations by Dahlig (http://dahlig.deviantart.com/)

I am kind of nervous about the next sin, Greed, because I don't really own especially expensive nail polish! But I'll figure something out ;P

Born Pretty Store Nail Decals

Today I have another review for you guys from Born Pretty Store, which is pretty much the best store for all your nail art accessories!

I chose to review these cute nail decals, which comes as a set of 12 sheets with different cute designs including stilettos, bows, and butterflies. I picked two designs for you guys to see how the nail decals work:

My first manicure was created using China Glaze Dance Baby and China Glaze Glistening Snow.

I love the way this turned out! This decal was probably my favorite out of the bunch, and it came with smaller decals with the same design.

The next design is also pretty simple. I used Julep Sasha and China Glaze For Audrey. These hearts are perfect for a quick and cute little accent. (I know I put one on a bit lopsided!)

You can get these decals for super cheap at the Born Pretty Store - but you can get them for even cheaper now because I have a 10% off coupon for you!

Click the coupon above to be taken to the store and use the code RFL91 at checkout to get 10% off your order and free shipping anywhere in the world!

What do you think of these decals?

Houndstooth Stamping with Julep

Today's manicure is some practice with stamping -

I used a base of Julep Minka, a gorgeous copper matte. I stamped on the houndstooth using ORLY Dazzle.

I love how the silver stayed mattified too :) Simple, but effective! What do you think?