31 DAY CHALLENGE 2014 ROUND UP!

 Hello Lovelies!! :D I apologize I haven't posted anything in the past few weeks here on the Blog, but I think I can make up for that today!

Last month was the month for the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge that I have participated in the past 2 years, so even though I didn't post, I did do a ton of nail art! I really wanted to share my designs here on the Blog every day I did them, but I was in the middle of packing (because we moved) so I didn't have a ton of time to work on nails and then write up a Blog post. So I figured I'd at least do this round up so that if you don't follow me on my Social Media pages you could at least still see them!

...oh and just a far warning, there are a lot of designs so this may be a pretty long post, but I'll do my best to keep the descriptions short ;)

Day 1: Red

For this design I used Zoya PixieDust, Chyna and Sinful Colors, Snow Me White. I created the lines using striping decals by You Polish. You can find them here: http://www.youpolish.com/products/ 

Day 2: Orange

This one was fun :) I used China Glaze, Sun of a Peach and Sinful Colors, Snow Me White.

Day 3: Yellow

As you can tell this one is very unique. I used the hairspray/water marble technique. The colors I used were China Glaze, Happy Go Lucky, Royal Polish, Little Peep, Sinful Colors, Black on Black and a silver by Forever 21.

Day 4: Green

If you saw my post a few weeks ago on the MoYou London stamping challenge then this design probably looks a little familiar :P I didn't want to recreate the exact design, but I loved the 2 colors together! So I used Royal Polish, Everlasting Meadow and Alchemy Lacquers, Kelpie Seaweed. The stamp is BuNa plate A.

Day 5: Blue

Before I say anything about this design I have to apologize for the bad lighting :S One of the lights on my light box broke so the lighting doesn't look good...but I did fix it so the lighting gets better I promise!

For this design I used Sinful Colors, Snow Me White, KBShimmer, Sky Jinks and Shimmer Polish, Sarah. Again, the decals are from You Polish.

Day 6: Purple

I took inspiration for this design from Slotezzy on Instagram. She used reinforcers to create the perfect french tip, which is BRILLIANT!! and I had some lying around so I decided to try it out :) If you have some...heck! Even if you don't! You should try them out! Super Super easy!

The color I used is by Zoya, called Mimi, and the flowers are just stickers I've had for awhile.

Day 7: Black & White

This is a fun one that at the beginning was looking a little iffy...but it worked out! ...At least I think it did lol. I used decals from Sally Hansen, and my Black on Black by Sinful Colors. It didn't quite feel done until I added the stud from Winstonia Store.

Day 8: Metallic

I know this is more of a chrome then a metallic...but it's just so gorgeous I couldn't resist using it :P This is Sirene by ILNP.

Day 9: Rainbow

This was so fun to do! I saw this technique on Instagram by @amkuch15 (I did make a video for this one ;) I just have to edit it. So keep an eye out on my YouTube for it!).

The colors I used were KBShimmer, Sky Jinks, Pansy-Monium and Rose On. China Glaze, Happy Go Lucky, Def Defying, Essie, Fear or Desire and Sinful Colors, Snow Me White.

Day 10: Gradient

This has to be one of my favorites! Until recently I hadn't ever tried the Glitter Gradient technique, but I love it! I'm surprised it took me so long to try it out! So for this one I used 2 polishes. Sinful Colors, Easy Going and Shimmer Polish, Karen.

Day 11: Polka Dots

Idk what was going on with me during this challenge but I just fell in love with just about every design I did! And it made it so hard for me to take a lot of these off :P 

I'm normally not a big fan of polka dots on myself, but the color combination of this design just made me all googly eyed hahaha. The colors were Wet N Wild, Haze of Love and Ulta, Set the Nude.

Day 12: Stripes

This looks way more complicated then it actually is. I followed a tutorial by @lemmingspolish on Instagram. I used Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and Endless Blue and it didn't quite feel done...I felt that the middle of the nail where all of the lines met up needed something to draw the focus...so I added some small studs! I absolutely loved this design! I may have to recreate it sometime because I love it that much :P

Day 13: Animal Print

Snake print!! I figured I already did a cheetah print so why not mix it up with something you don't usually see. I used Ulta, Set the Nude, China Glaze, Street Chic and Orly, Coffee Break. Stamp is Pueen10.

Day 14: Flowers

This is another design that looks complicated but it's actually pretty simple...I may do a tutorial? I haven't decided yet, but I will post it if I do :)

The colors I used were Sinful Colors, Black on Black and white, pink, purple and yellow acrylic paint.

Day 15: Delicate Print

For some reason, every single time I get to this day of the challenge I think of lace...so why not do lace? The colors I used were China Glaze, Purr-fect Plum, Fairy Dust and Sinful Colors, Black on Black. The stamp I used was BuNa plate A.

 Day 16: Geometric

I've seen this fun design quite a lot recently so I figured I'd give it a go :P Colors used were Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and Black on Black, plus white and black acrylic paint. Again the studs are from Winstonia Store.

Day 17: Glitter

I was inspired by @bettinanails on Instagram for this design. She did this with blue and purple and I absolutely loved it! I used Royal Polish, Little Peep, Carnation Creation and Blossom Blend.

Day 18: Half Moons

So if I'm being honest with myself, I know this isn't half moons...obviously. But I loved a design Slotezzy did so much that I figured I could probably get away with it on this day! ...who's going to stop me right!? 

The color I used is Haze of Love by Wet N Wild, and the base of the nail is mattified using a matte topcoat by O.P.I. The studs are from Winstonia Store.

Day 19: Galaxy Nails

Every time I do this challenge I always try to do something different than what I've done in previous years. Especially when it comes to the Galaxy themed design. So this year I wanted to use brighter colors so I googled Galaxy and came across the pic above and decided to do my best to recreate it.

This is now my most liked photo to date! And I've had so many people request a tutorial...which I may do...you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Colors used were Julep, Catrina, Jules, Marjorie, Nan, Evelyn, Simone, Char, Bess, Sinful Colors, Black on Black, China Glaze, Fairy Dust and white, black, yellow, orange and red acrylic paint.

Day 20: Water Marble

I kept this one simple with one nail marbled, but it didn't feel complete until I added the dots :) The colors I used were KBShimmer, Pansy-Monium, Sky Jinks, Rose On and Sinful Colors, Snow Me White. 

Day 21: Inspired by a Color

...Technically this was more inspired by a stamping plate I received...and one of my Facebook followers requests :P ...but I wanted to add it into this challenge so I figured it worked :P

When I was working on this one I wasn't sure it would work out, and I was sure that I wouldn't love it...but I was so wrong! I got it to work and I absolutely loved it!!! I used the advanced stamping technique to make Betty Boop more realistic (as opposed to just an outline).

The polishes I used were Sinful Colors, Snow Me White, Black on Black, Easy Going, Orly, Grave Mistake, Zoya PixieDust, Chyna and the stamps were CH29 and an Ebay stamp. 

You can purchase the plate here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nail-Art-Stamp-Stamping-Image-Plate-Manicure-Stencil-Cat-Betty-Lip-Lace-Heart-03-/281396952435?pt=US_Nail_Care&hash=item418490bd73

Day 22: Inspired by a Song

Can you tell what song it is? I took inspiration from Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off". I used Sinful Colors, Snow Me White, Black on Black, Endless Blue, China Glaze, Street Chic, Passion, Happy Go Lucky and Ulta, Set the Nude.

Day 23: Inspired by a Movie

I found these fun Disney Princess and Villain water decals on Ebay and decided to give them a try! They were around $2 and are so fun for nail art! I wasn't too excited about how this one turned out at first (I think cuz I had something else in mind), but once I wore them for a little bit and took pictures I decided I really liked them! :)

The polishes I used were Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and China Glaze, Sky High Top, Rich & Famous and Fairy Dust. If you would like these decals for yourself, here is the direct link: 

Princesses: http://www.ebay.com/itm/30-ASSORTED-DISNEY-PRINCESSES-WATER-SLIDE-NAIL-ART-DECALS-CUTE-/371020962533?pt=US_Nail_Care&hash=item5662929ae5

Villains: http://www.ebay.com/itm/20-NAIL-DECALS-DISNEY-VILLAINS-WATER-SLIDE-DECALS-PRINCESS-VILLAINS-NAIL-ART-/390561771118?pt=US_Nail_Care&hash=item5aef4bae6e

Day 24: Inspired by a Book

If you can't tell, I was inspired by Dr. Suess. I grew up on these books and have wanted to do some kind of nail art with them in mind, so this was really fun. I used Sinful Colors, White on White and an assortment of acrylic paints.

Day 25: Inspired by a Pattern

I was inspired by this design from my Pueen stamping plates. I used Naiad of the Spring by Alchemy Lacquers and stamped using Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and Pueen 54.

Day 26: Inspired by Fashion

I am a huge Katy Perry fan so when I saw this dress I knew exactly what I was going to do! I was sent these decals to review and they worked so perfectly! I loved this design! :) The decals are really easy to use and so eye catching! 

Day 27: Inspired by Artwork

I forgot to save the original picture, but it pretty much looked similar to this design, just bigger ;P I used acrylic paint and Sinful Colors, Snow Me White.

Day 28: Inspired by a Flag

I kept this one super simple. White and checkered flags from the races! I used to go to Nascar races a lot with my family and some family friends so I thought it'd be fun to do this :)

Colors used were Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and Black on Black with Cheeky plate CH3.

Day 29: Inspired by the Supernatural

 I really wasn't sure what to do for this theme, but I figured creepy eyes would work...and I so wish I had a black light because that would have made this design so much more fun!

Over Sinful Colors, Black on Black I used Doctor Lacquers, Chlorophyll, Lutein, Annatto and Lycopene.

Day 31: Honor Nails You Love

I just realized a skipped a day :S ...my bad! We were about 2 days away from moving when I got to the end of this challenge so I guess I didn't pay attention...oh well. For this design I decided to keep it simple. I didn't do this off of anyone else's design or anything. I just love the Glitter Gradient technique so much I decided to do another on :P

So there you have it!! Which one (ones) were your favorite!? Please let me know in the comments below :) And if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! :)

If you would like to see my designs from previous years you can find them here: 31 Day Challenge 2013, http://www.pinterest.com/playfulpolishes/.

 Thanks for reading to the end! :P Muah!

YOU POLISH NAIL DECALS

Hello again! 

About a month ago I received some Nail Decals from Lauren with You Polish to review and over the last few weeks I've tried out a few of them. I haven't had a chance to try out all of them, but the ones I have I absolutely love! 

**These products were sent to me for review. Please see my Disclosure Policy listed in the tabs above.**

These are all of the decals I received :) 

 I know you guys have now probably seen these Mermaid Nails 2-3 times already but I have to share them again! :P 

For this mani I used the thick straight line decal (the orange decal in the photo at the top of this post). I have been wanting thicker lines than my striping tape, so this decal was perfect! 

 I used 2 different decals for this mani. I used the big stripe, as well as the sparrow. My original plan for this mani was to apply the sparrow on each nail, then apply the blue glitter, and then peel off the sparrow decal (because I'm pretty sure that's how these decals are intended to be used), but I am not good with that way of using decals...so for now I will continue using them as stickers :P

I really love working with these decals and I can't wait to try the other ones I have. They are so easy and also so fun to use!

I want to thank Lauren from You Polish for sending these to me for review and also I want to thank her for being kind enough to include a discount for my followers :) That was very sweet of her! 

If you would like any of the decals I've shown in this post, or you would like to see more of what she offers, you can find her website here: http://youpolish.com. Use code playfulpolishes10 at checkout. You can also keep up with her on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/youpolish?fref=ts :)

LEESHA'S LACQUER SWATCH & REVIEW

Good afternoon! :) I hope you all are having a good weekend! 

Today I have some fun swatches to share with you from another Indie Polish maker :) These polishes are from Leesha's Lacquer and I adore them! :)

**These polishes were sent to me for review. Please see my Disclosure Policy listed in the tabs above.**

First up is Sea Shells.

This is a gorgeous blue-green shimmer polish. It is completely opaque in 2-3 coats. I love the color, especially with my skin tone, but the polish itself is very sensitive. It does take awhile to dry and if you're not careful it can smudge very easily. But overall I really like it :) I applied the Sea Shell stamp using Winstonia plate 108 and Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and then used the Advanced Stamping technique to fill in the sea shells with some color using Royal Polish, Carnation Creation, Little Peep, Everlasting Meadow and Essie, Full Steam Ahead.

Next up is Boardwalk. 

At first glance I was a little hesitant about my thoughts with this polish, mainly because I haven't ever been too crazy about glitter polishes, but I actually really love it! It's so fun! It reminds me of The Little Mermaid :P I applied 1 coat for this look, because I didn't want to overdo it with the glitters.

And now for the glitters :) I have only used these glitters for one mani so far, and that was my Mermaid Nail Art...which I absolutely Love! Even though placing the glitter takes some time, I really love it!

I really love these polishes and the glitter :) I want to thank Leesha for sending them to me for review. If you would like to check out Leesha's Lacquer you can do so here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LeeshasLacquer

ND LACQUERS NAIL ESSENTIAL COLLECTION REVIEW

Good afternoon Lovelies!
 I'm really excited to be sharing this post with you guys today because I've been testing out ND Lacquers Essential line since the beginning of July and it's been so hard trying not to say anything about it until now! :P ...and I just want to give you guys a heads up right now, this will be a pretty lengthy post because I wanted to make sure to give you all of the details :)

The Essential line includes a Base coat, Top coat (both of which are 5-Free), Peel Off Base Coat and Cuticle Oil.

The reason I'm so excited to share this post with you guys today is because I know for any nail artist out there whether a beginner or a more advanced nail artist, you need the essentials for a good manicure, and we all know that base coats and top coats are essential for a good manicure, right? We also know that we need to take good care of our cuticles. Plus, all of us nail girls LOVE our glitters! ...and you all know I'm right about that! ;) But they're a giant pain in the ass to remove! So Natali has really thought of it all for us with this collection and I'm excited that I was able to be apart of the few girls who were able to test out these wonderful products!

*These products were sent to me for review. Please see my Disclosure Policy listed in the tabs above.**

Top Coat, Base Coat, Cuticle Oil & Peel Off Base Coat

(Yes these have been used...I forgot to take a pic of them when I first received them :S)

Let's start with the base coat...since that's what we'd start off with if we were sitting down to paint our nails ;) This base coat right off the bat looks very different than pretty much all other base coats because it has a milky consistency. Now at first I was a little confused by that, but as time went on and I played around with this set I actually decided I really liked that! One thing that I haven't liked to much about using Seche Vite base and top coat is that I have a hard time telling the difference...I don't like that I constantly have to read each label to make sure I'm not putting my top coat on in place of my base coat or vice versa...so I really really like that this base coat is a milky color!
(Photo below shown with 1 coat of base coat).

Base Coat - $7.50 (13mL) $2.50 (5mL)

Another thing I absolutely love about this base coat is how fast it dries. I literally feel like within seconds of applying it it's completely dry, and I'm sure we all know what it's like to have to sit and wait for a base coat to dry...it sucks! So I am loving this this one.

The only thing I can't tell you for sure about this base coat is how long it lasts...mainly because I redo my nails 2-3+ times a week, so I can't really say how well your mani will last. But! I did use the base coat and top coat on my mom while she was here for my wedding and when she got home she had to help my sister move, and you know how moving really takes a toll on your nails and polish...well she told me that she was really impressed because other than some nail breaks (due to picking up heavy boxes and what not) there were no chips in the polish! And this ended up being about 1 1/2 weeks after I did her nails! So I guess that says it all right there!

Peel off Base Coat - $5.50 (only available in 13mL)

Photo shown with 1 (wet) coat.

Photo shown with 3 (dry) coats.

 This one is actually my very first peel off base coat. I have seen a lot of other Nail Bloggers use peel off base coats before and I have wanted to try them out myself, I just never got around to finding one...so I was excited to try this one out. Because it was my first time I did have trouble with it...I wasn't quite sure how to use it, because every time I tried to peel it off it seemed harder than just removing my polish with remover. So I got some tips from Natali and started over, and although I still need some practice, because it's not a polish I use every day, I do think it's a great polish.

It works best if you apply 2-3 coats (I was originally only applying 1), and it really does make it easier to remove stubborn glitter. Another trick I learned for when I have a hard time getting it to peel off is to soak my nails in warm water for a minute, and that really helps as well. I did try to use it around my cuticles, for when I was doing a water marble or a gradient, and it helped my clean up process so much! It does take awhile to dry because it has a thicker consistency than a regular base coat, but it's worth the wait. 

Oh, and one more quick thing about this peel off base (that I know some of you may be wondering), it did not damage my nails. Apparently some Bloggers have tried peel off base polishes that have damaged their nails during the peel off process...that makes me cringe just thinking about it...but I didn't have any problems with this one.

Cuticle Oil - $7.50 (13 mL) $2.50 (5mL)

I know a lot of you probably want to see before and after photos with the cuticle oil, and unfortunately I don't have one :( ...a few months ago I started my current nail care routine and I've taken really good care of my cuticles, so by the time I received this line I already had really nice cuticles. But with that being said I do have to tell you that I love every about this cuticle oil! Apart from the scent, just because I'm more of a fruity person and the scent is more of a floral type smell to me. But I do like that the scent isn't strong. It's a light smell, which is so nice when it comes to cuticle oils. I have tried some cuticle oils that have had such a strong smell that within minutes I have a huge headache and I can't get the smell off of me for hours and hours...this is definitely not one of those :)

I also really like that this oil has a brush and not a roll on applicator because personally I feel like I have more control of how much cuticle oil is on a brush as opposed to a roll on. Plus the most impressive thing for me about this cuticle oil is that it soaks into the skin really quickly and makes the cuticles so nice and soft! I've tried several cuticle oils over the past year and a lot of them don't soak in very well at all...so if I had to give this a rating I would give it a 4.8 out of 5 :)

As I mentioned before this is not a before and after using this Cuticle Oil, I just wanted to share a picture with you that shows what my cuticles looked like before I started taking extra good care of them. I'm a little bit amazed at the difference now that I see these 2 pics together :P

Top Coat - $7.50 (13mL) $2.50 (5mL)

I had to save the best for last! ...and if that's the only thing I said about this top coat, you should trust me on that! This topcoat gets a 5 out of 5 in my book! I've been an avid Seche Vite girl for a few years now and have yet to try another top coat that I like...but I've been wanting to find something better than Seche Vite because I don't like that the Seche Vite top coat shrinks my manis. I also don't like that once I get half way through a bottle of top coat it gets really thick and goopy real fast. So the first thing I have to tell you is that if you have tried Seche Vite, you know how fast it dries...pretty fast. Well this top coat dries faster! And I mean it literally dries in seconds! 

When I was doing my moms nails I applied a white base coat and then several neon colors with the dry brush method before I was going to stamp an image over the top in black (pictures below). So just to make sure the polish was smooth before applying the stamp I applied the ND Lacquers top coat and told my mom we needed to wait for it to dry, and she actually pressed down pretty hard on her nail and it was completely dry. I was shocked! I had applied the top coat on all 10 fingers, closed the bottle, set it aside and was getting the stamping tools ready and it was dry...and not just top dry, completely hard all the way through! I did not expect that at all!

One thing I wasn't quite sure if I liked at first was that this top coat applies pretty thin, but after working with it I decided I really like that! I think I've been working with my Seche Vite getting pretty thick for so long that I didn't know what to think about such a thin top coat. My mom really liked that as well.

I used 1 coat of Top Coat for my 4th of July mani (2 coats over glitter).

1 coat of top coat for photo below. Polish is by ND Lacquers. I applied 3 coats for full opacity.

So there you have it! If you have stayed with me through this entire post Kudos to you ;) I know it was long, but for an Essential line I felt that I needed to share a more in depth review for you guys. 

I hope you found it helpful. If you would like to try this wonderful line out for yourself, you can find it here: http://ndlacquers.bigcartel.com, you don't have to wait! The entire set together is $22, which is a really decent price for all 4 if you ask me!

And I just want to say a Big THANK YOU to Natali for sending me this line to review! 

XOXOXO!