Pink and black sponged gradient

Sunday Funday!!  Hope you all had a great weekend so far and are looking forward to smooth upcoming week.  
So, I'm sure everyone has been drooling over all the sponged gradient mani's lately...or at least I know I have been.  Here is another take on it that I did last weekend.



This is China Glaze Fuchsia Fanatic and Finger Paints Black Expressionism (one of the best, cheaper black cremes in my opinion).  I also added a touch of Hits Speciallita No Olimpo: Zeus on the tips.



I really liked this but I think it would have been better if I added a third color between the pink and black to make the transition smoother.  Trial and error...that's the fun part of nail art and polishing!

P.S. I've updated the blog sale again.  Nothing major, just added a few new items and lowered a few prices.
Thanks for looking!

Darling Diva Polish: Xanadu

Today I have another Darling Diva Polish to show you.  I am loving all of these indy polish brands lately and am almost on glitter overload!  There are so many new indy polish artisans popping up so fast it is hard to keep up.  DDP is just one of the few that has caught my eye recently.



This is 2 coats of Xanadu over 1 coat of WnW Chrome: Grew Up In Cobalt-Imore.  Xanadu is a clear polish that is packed with various sizes, shapes and colors of glitter.  There are teeny, tiny silver holo glitters.  Blue and silver medium hexes.  Silver holo diamonds.  Medium red squares. LARGE hot pink squares (LOVE these!!)  Silver/holo bar/strings.  If I can remember correctly there is also some green glitters, maybe a touch of gold holo and something else I am not remembering.  I am loving the way all the random glitters play together!

If you notice in this photo...my cuticle line is waaaay grown out.  I painted my nails on a Sunday and took this photo on a Thursday.  I usually have lifting and peeling with most glitter polishes.  For some reason, this combo did not have that problem.

Darling Diva Polishes can be found on etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DarlingDivaPolish 

I have purchased these polishes on my own and am offering my personal opinion on them...and my opinion is that cerealkiller1 has come out with a very nice, quality product again!! 

Nails Inc: Spitalfields

Happy Saturday everyone!

Are you over magnetic polishes yet?  Just when I thought I was, Nails Inc comes out with a new design.



FISHNET!!  I love this design!  I think it is tied with the star pattern as my favorite.



This is 2 coats with regular base and top coats.  I don't know if you can tell but, the design does not wrap all the way across my nail.  My nails are too curved for most magnets but I still love the look of it.  The Nails Inc magnets themselves are very nice too.  They seem like they have a stronger than average magnetic pull when you place them over the wet polish.
The fishnet magnetic also came in a charcoal and a chunky, gold glitter (Piccadilly).  I picked up the gold but left the charcoal one because I already have a few charcoal magnetics...I can just use the Nails Inc magnet on those if I want.  I found these at Sephora...$16.  Not cheap friends!

Lastly, check out my blog sale tab up above.  I've added some new polish and makeup items...maybe you'll find something you've been looking for ;-)

Darling Diva Polish: Ringer

Have you ever wished you could find a good dupe to the infamous Clarins 230?  I think I have found a nice substitute to get a very similar effect.



Look at that gorgeous color shift!  The base color is brighter and more violet than my bottle of 230 but, that's what makes Ringer very unique and beautiful.  This is 4 coats of Ringer with my regular base.  I didn't want to layer this one for this post so I could show how the polish  looks on it's own.



The main shimmer color you see it the red/purple color.  This is visible in most lighting situations.  You can get the blue and green colors in lower lights and when your nails hit certain angles.



Even with 4 coats this is s sheer polish.  It would look great for jelly sandwiches or layered over a darker base.  I really liked the look of the 4 coats.  The base color is so vibrant and happy!  I did not have any issues with how this polish applied.  All coats went on evenly and built up nicely.  The drying time was average.

I leave you with some more swatch and bottle shots!!





And, a bottle comp shot of Beyu 209, Clarins 230, DDP Ringer and Max Factor Fantasy Fire



Darling Diva Polish can be purchased at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/DarlingDivaPolish

More sponging!

I was really liking the purple sponged on mani I did so I thought I'd do it again but in pink! I wore this for my last derby game hoping the Shape Shifter topping would distract the opposing players. I really cannot remember what the colors I used were. I know one of the pink was a neon scented one from Claire's that had micro holo glitter in it. It sure did make the finished mani smell nice though! I think I like it better with the lightest color at the tip. And I definitely liked putting Shape Shifter on top of it all. I am always looking for an excuse to use my Lynnderella's. Have a safe and relaxing weekend!

Purple sponge gradient mani

Ahhh...Wednesday! My one day a week I get to sleep in, watch junk TV and *try* to get caught up on blog reading and trying to write new posts. I had recently saw a tutorial link on Pinterest for a sponged on gradient mani. I immediately had a need to try this for some reason. Sounded easy enough...and it was! The hardest part was trying to pick complimentary colors. Here's what I came up with. The colors I used were (lightest to darkest) SH CSM Lavender Cloud, Essence A Lovely Secret, Nails Inc St. John's Wood, Revlon TS Royal and Verity Deep Violet. The Verity basically applied as a tinted wash unfortunately so there is more Revlon on the tip than there is Verity =/ I topped the whole thing off with OPI DS Shimmer to blend the lines even more. I ended up loving this look and color combo! I tried this look in pink as well...which I will be posting about next time. Have a great one!! P.S...as usual, check out my blog sale. I have added a few new items and will continue to do so until I get my stash better under control.

Layla Ocean Rush + updated BLOG SALE!

Hump Day...1 more day of work...1 more day of derby practice...1 more kick ass game on Saturday...can't wait until it's all over so I can get a little rest! Don't get me wrong, I love skating and roller derby but, my body needs a couple weeks of rest and regular practice!


2 coats over my regular base and 1 coat of Jessica aqua base (which game with the Disco Diva silver holo set)


This is more true the IRL color.

I heard that these may be available on Ulta.com now. A little higher priced at around $15 but oh so worth it! We haven't seen holos this good in a while.

Lastly, I have added to and updated my blog sale listing. It's still HUGE and I've only made it bigger!! Click on the teal colored tab towards the top left of my page and it will take you there. I've added a few new makeup items as well.

Have a great Wednesday!!

Sinful Last Chance + Liquid Euphoria Nirvana

Happy Easter everyone!

I am enjoying a very quiet day home alone today. Absolutely NO plans except to try to relax and rest my banged up body for the up coming work week. On that note, if you have been wondering why I have a huge lack of posting...blame it on roller derby!! I am almost finished with a mega run of bouts. 1 more bout against the OC Roller Girls Pulp Friction on April 14th then I get a little bout break until May 12th. My nails will be happy along with my huge bruise on my shin!!

Here is one of my recent NOTD's.



This is 2 coats of Sinful Last Chance (a great darker, kelly green creme) topped with 1 coat of Liquid Euphoria Nirvana



Another view to show the pretty amber and gold sparks.

Hope you all have a great Easter or just a good Sunday!! Start your week of right...get lots of rest tonight! :)

Layla Flash Black

I feel like my nails keep getting shorter and shorter these days!! Every day of derby practice brings a new little chip or tear and I have to file them down a little more.

But...holos look hot on any nail length-right?



This is 2 coats of Flash Black over my regular base plus a thin coat of the Jessica holo base.



Some people don't like to use any sort of top coat over their holo polishes because it can dull the holographic effect a bit. I have found that *most* Sally Hansen top coats don't cause them to dull. The one I have been using recently is Diamond Flash Fast Dry Top Coat.

Can you tell which one of my nails has no top coat on it?





Happy hump day!

HITS No Olimpo Atena

Last night was an amazing night for me. We had our season home game opener for my roller derby team...and we won! Our next game is April 7th so, I have about a month to recover. Well, not really because we have a tournament to skate in the week before. Lots and lots of derby this month!!

On to the nails!!



This is 1 coat of NYS Hot Rocket Pink (a great neon jelly) with 2 coats of HITS No Olimpo...and a little impromptu accent nail art.



These HITS polishes are very pretty and have a nice holo effect...though they are a bit sheer so they are best to layer over a solid base coat. Also, the bottles are tiny at only 6mls.



A close up of my accent nail. I was going for a tuxedo nail look...and don't think I quite nailed it. I need a different bow I think.

And, as a bonus...here is a shot of my derby face for last night's game!



My makeup was done by the gorgeous and talented Bettie who runs Candy and Chrome Makeup by Bettie. Check out her website at http://www.candynchrome.com/

Have a great Sunday!!!