Feelin' Blue

Hello Friends!
So I was looking through my nail polish collection recently, and I realized that there are a bunch of polishes I haven't used in ages!  I decided it was time to break out some old favorites and perhaps put them to new use.  This was the result!

So as you can see I alternated shades of blue.  The lighter blue is Essie Bikini So Teeny, and the darker blue is Essie Butler Please.  I haven't used either of these in quite a while, which was obvious when I pulled the brushes out of the bottles.  However, on the second coat of each polish they evened out.  I did a sponge gradient on the ring finger using both colors.  Not the cleanest gradient I've ever done, but it looks ok.  On the rest of my fingers I did a glitter gradient using OPI Last Friday Night.  I don't know why it's been so long since I used this one; it's freaking gorgeous!  I think I probably could have used another layer of the glitter, but the light tip coverage looks nice too :)  The other change I would make if I  do this again would be to add a layer of the glitter on top of the gradient.  As I played around with this glitter later on, I found that this glitter is rather thin on its own, so it would have worked nicely.  However, if you do want full coverage with this glitter, you can sponge it on and it packs a punch!

I hope y'all enjoyed seeing my experimentation with old polishes!  Let me know if you try something like this or what polishes you have in your collection that could use some love :) Hope y'all have a fantastic week!
~Mary Elizabeth

Fun with Zoya

Hey Guys!
So today's post is my messing around with some new zoya polishes that I ordered online.  These are definitely some of the best ones I've used from this brand.  Hope y'all enjoy!

The color on my ring finger is Zoya  Magical PixieDust in Cosmo, and the rest of the fingers have Zoya Blu.  Cosmo is definitely my favorite of the PixieDust line.  It is mostly silver glitter with other colors and holographics throughout.  I like that there is a combination of big and small glitter, yet it's not as rough or sharp as the first round of the OPI liquid sand ones which were the same kind of deal.  It takes a few coats to get the glitter solid, but it looks beautiful once you build it up.  Blu is a great, solid baby blue.  I've really been into light, creme finish polishes lately, and this one definitely fits the bill!  I used two coats out of habit, but I probably could have gotten away with one.  I also really like the way that these two polishes go together.  Cosmo makes a great accent nail!  I have really grown to love Zoya as a brand, and I can't wait to try more!

I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and please feel free to leave comments below on other posts you like to see.  Have a Marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth 

September Nail Art Day 3: School!

Hey Everyone!
I apologize for this look being so late, but I've had a pretty busy weekend and haven't had time to write a post.  Anyway, the theme for day three is school colors.  My school's colors are red, white and blue, but I decided to substitute white for silver just so I could use a little glitter.  Cuz who doesn't like a little glitter, right? :)

For a base color I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon in Navy Baby.  I thought about using red as a base, but I think the navy is a little more classy.  Then I used Zoya Sarah to add a red stripe on the side.  The silver stripe was added with my Kiss silver glitter polish.  This is one of my favorite ways to do my nails lately, and I think it does my school's colors justice.  I hope y'all enjoyed, and stay tuned for more (day 4's design will be a little late too)!  Have a terrific Tuesday, and bow wow bulldogs!!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Mod Mint

Hey Everyone!
I am super excited about today's post!  This is a design I found on pinterest, and I thought it would be fun.  It takes a while to do, but it was totally worth it!  Enjoy!

The base color I used is Julie G Gelato in Venice.  I love the formula of this polish! It is a little thick, but it goes on quite smoothly.  For the white on my middle finger and pinky, I used OPI Alpine Snow, which I desprately need a back up of.  I used a thin nail art brush to draw diagonal lines across those two nails.  I then used the normal polish brush to fill in the top two triangles.  I let that dry and then used my Kiss nail art polish in black to create the other diagonal lines.  This creates an argyle effect.  For the other three fingers I used the same base color and used OPI Berlin There, Done That on one third of  each nail.  I used my silver Kiss nail art polish to add the almost plaid look to the nails.  As you can see, the design isn't perfect, but it was really fun to do and looks super cute :)
I hope y'all enjoyed, and have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
"Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light on my path" Psalm 119:105

Blue Skies and Sunshine

Hey guys!
Today's post is a really fun yet classy summer mani that I think looks like the gorgeous blue skies outside my window! It is a reverse glitter fade that glistens beautifully in the summer sunlight.  Hope y'all enjoy!

For the base color I used Essie Bikini So Teeny.  I did a review on this color and one other from that collection about this time last year, so feel free to go check it out here.  I love this blue because it is not as intense as some of the other blues I own.  The glitter is my standard glitter fade go to, OPI Glitter-ally the Best Silver Ever.  This makes a great combo that looks very classy.  It is so simple and so perfect for summer, a day at the beach, or any other day :) Hope y'all enjoyed, and have a fabulous weekend!
~ Mary Elizabeth

My First Indie Polishes!

Hey everyone!
I finally bought my first indie polishes!  My roommate introduced me to these, and I am so excited! I bought two polishes from LynBDesigns on Etsy.  The main reason I bought these is because they are Princess Bride themed.  The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time.  That is one of those movies that I never get tired of.  Anyway, the colors are absolutely gorgeous, and the names simply make me giddy :)  Hope you Enjoy!

 Here's what the bottles themselves look like.  How cute!  The collection is called Dweam Wiffin a Dweam, which is pretty much the best name ever.

 The first polish is called The Spaniard.  It is a sheer sliver with large particles of white glitter.  This is a beautiful color that would look gorgeous on top of other colors.  For the photos I used two coats, but I think it would take three to get a really solid color.  I think this is really pretty, but the formula took a little more effort to work with than I usually like.  Still totally worth it though!

 Now this is the polish that I was the most excited for.  This one is called It's Inconceivable.  It is a glitter polish with lots of blue, purple, red, and silver glitter.  Again, I used two coats for these photos.  This one really only needs two coats to be solid.  I can't wait to try this out over some other polishes!  I am absolutely satisfied with the way this one turned out, and I can't wait to see what all I can do with it.
I hope y'all enjoyed this, and I hope to be getting some more indies soon to review.  I am glad to say that I will be doing lots of posts this summer, so I hope you will return soon to see what i've got for you :) Have a tremendous Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

I feel summer comin' on...

Hey everybody!
I hope y'all had a great weekend!  So I just started summer vacation, so I thought I'd post a look that I did using one of the most summery things i could think of: NEON!  Hope you enjoy!

So to start off I used China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise.  This is a neon turquoise color with some slight shimmer.  It is not what most people generally think of when they think neon (it's not just eye searing), but it is still very vibrant.  I topped that with Sephora by OPI Not Your Average Turquoise.  I love this turquoise glitter!  The only problem I have with it is that I kinda had to fish for the bigger pieces of glitter, but that is pretty common for polishes like this.  I used my Francesca's nail art pen in gold to add the half moons at the top of the nail.  I finished off with a coat of top coat.
I hope y'all enjoyed this look!  I expect to get a good amount of posts in now that I am off for summer break, so keep your eyes peeled!  Have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Swatch Spam!

Hey there!
Today I am kind of going through my archive of swatches and talking about the polishes that I swatched and took pictures of but never posted about.  I have to let y'all know that my posts will be mainly older nail art things for a while.  This is due to the fact that I broke the nail on my middle finger this week.  Not just a little crack.  Half the nail is gone.  I won't be painting that nail for a while, so I won't be able to swatch for a while.  Anyway, on to the post!

 First,we have OPI Brand New Skates.  This is from a really old holiday collection.  It is a dark grey with multicolored sparkles.  I think this a pretty color, but the formula is a little thin for my taste.  It took a good two/three coats to get the solid color in the picture.  I added little snowflakes in the corner with my Kiss glitter polish.

 Next up, Essie Leading Lady.  This is from the 2012 Holiday collection.  It is a red with red glitter.  I like this one because it is a darker red.  Bright reds don't really work on my skin tone.  I also like that the glitter is not as hard to get off as most glitters. I used two coats for this swatch.

 This one is Butter London Dodgy Barnett. It is a silver holographic.  What I like about this polish is that it is it is holographic but not too linear.  I find that sometimes super linear holos can get a little distracting.  The downside to this one is that it takes about three coats to get a solid color.  It is beautiful, and definitely worth getting!

Last but not least, Zoya Charla.  This is a beautiful turquoise color with green shimmer. I love this color! This is the kind of color that I am always reaching for in stores.  The only downside to this one is that it stained my nails a bit when I took it off.  Other than that I had no problems with this polish.  I used two coats for these pictures.

So that's it for my first swatch spam! I hope y'all enjoyed, and have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Confetti Fade

Hello Lovelies!
So today I have a look for you that I did using some of the polishes I got from holiday collections.  I hope y'all enjoy!

So I started with a base of OPI Tomorrow Never Dies from the James Bond collection.  The blue/purple is the kind of color that I reach for a lot.  It's a color that I can wear without being too crazy.  The glitter I used is Zoya Electra.  This is a very nice bar glitter.  I like this because it is finer glitter than OPI Save Me which I don't own, but I have looked at it and decided I didn't need it.  The problem I have with bar glitter on the tip of my nails is that it tends to catch on things and scratch me.  However, it makes a very unique glitter gradient that is subtle yet fun.  I hope y'all enjoyed, and have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Long Time Coming Holiday Nails!

Hey Everyone!
Today's post is going to be about a look that I did a while back with two of the polishes from Essie's holiday collection.  I planned on posting this earlier, but time got away from me.  Anyway, I hope you like it!

For the base color I used Essie Leading Lady. This is a glittery, dark red color.  For the side argyle-type triangles, I used Essie Beyond Cozy.  This is a very solid silvery glitter.  To get this style I cut triangles out of scotch tape and placed them on the top and bottom of my nails.  Then I painted Beyond Cozy on the sides of my nails.  Then I removed the tape.  Some of them I had to fix afterwards.  Finally I finished with one coat of top coat (I'm not positive which top coat I used though).  I hope y'all enjoyed, and I hope you'll try it out yourself!  Have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth