Monday, July 28, 2014

The Disney Diva - Ursula Nail Art


The Lacquer Legion's theme this month is "Fandom." Where do you even start with that one? There are SO MANY POSSIBILITIES! I've actually done quite a few fanicures in my day. Mythbusters, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Adventure Time...the list goes on. This time, I chose to do more Disney villain nail art. You may recall the Queen of Hearts mani I did recently, and here's another powerful baddie: Ursula from The Little Mermaid!
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Saturday, July 26, 2014

Subtle Glam - Zoya Godiva with Stamping


Though I'm not usually much of a stamper, I often find myself eager to stamp over my textured manicures. The stamping seems to adhere better, it creates a really cool effect, and I get to continue to enjoy the texture that I love. In this manicure, I used stamping to add a subtle refresh to a nude textured polish.
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Friday, July 25, 2014

My Picks From the Smitten Polish Summer 2014 Collection


Recently, I was doing my usual blog-browsing and I came across this stunning Smitten Polish Summer 2014 collection swatch post from My Nail Polish Obsession. I don't buy too much polish these days, but every so often something will catch my eye and I'll blaze through the checkout process faster than you can say "Do you really need more nail polish?"
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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Sunset On Tatooine - Star Wars Nail Art


Today I have a bit of geeky nail art to share with you! If you are a fan of Star Wars, I'm sure you know about Tatooine. The planet was both Anakin's and Luke's home and is where Luke first meets C-3PO and R2-D2 in A New Hope. This nail art shows Luke with the two droids as the planet's twin suns set on the horizon.
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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Cosmoprof North America 2014: What's New in Nail Polish


This year, I attended Cosmoprof North America for the first time, as press. There were so many brands to see and keep up with, plus fun developments in beauty and nail technology. Today I'm covering tons of information about what is new in the world of nail polish, and I've also got some additional posts in the works about other facets of the experience.

As you're running through this post, don't forget to click the photos to enlarge them! If you'd rather just flip through all of the pics, check out my full album of Cosmoprof photos instead.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Busy Bee - Freehand Gel Nail Art for Cosmoprof 2014


As I started planning out the manicure I wanted to wear for Cosmoprof, I knew I wanted it to be three things: freehand, unique, and done in gel. I thought back to the bee manicure that I did in September 2013, and remembered how much I enjoyed wearing it. I chose to go with a similar theme, but tried to bump up the difficulty a bit.
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Monday, July 21, 2014

Lazy Maze and a Summer Gradient with Floss Gloss


Continuing my "black pattern over a neon gradient" obsession is today's manicure, featuring Floss Gloss polishes! I was stuck on a name for this post until Leslie from Work/Play/Polish suggested "lazy maze." I loved that name because it references the similarly patterned maze manicures that I've done before, and also describes what my lines look like: the easiest mazes ever.
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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Queen of the Road - OPI Ford Mustang Collection Nail Art


One of OPI's newest collections is a collaboration with Ford Mustang. Sexy cars, sexy nail polish...can't lose! It features six shades inspired by the Mustang and the girl who drives it, and two of them fit perfectly into this road-themed nail art. So rev up your engines and let's go!
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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Earthly Glitter Gradient ft. Zoya Tickled and Bubbly Nail Polish


Recently I had the Zoya Tickled and Bubbly collections out on my nail table, and I was pairing colors together to try to find a good match for nail art. Where the Tickled collection features cremes, the Bubbly collection is made of glitters, and there are lots of matching shades between the two. The combination that stood out most to me, though? Ocean blue and rich green. Guess I was feelin' the earthly vibes.
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Friday, July 11, 2014

TUTORIAL: Electric Summer Triangles


This month's Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art theme is "Electric Summer"! Its inspired by contrasting shades and looks that will pop against tanned skin. While I don't have the "tan" part down, I can still bust out a mean summer mani that will look great on anyone's hand. Read on for the details and a tutorial for how to achieve this look for yourself.
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The Gathering of the Unicorns, or Holographic Layering


It's Throwback...Tuesday (sure, that's a thing), and I've done some more draft digging to bring you this beautiful combo that I call "The Gathering of the Unicorns." It combines Different Dimension's Dueling Unicorns with Clarins 230, which is often affectionately referred to as "Unicorn Pee" because of its rarity.
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Monday, July 7, 2014

Contrary Polish On the Rocks Collection


It's been a minute since I posted some Contrary Polish shades. Today I've got swatches of the On the Rocks Collection from Winter 2013. These moody shades are inspired by rocks and minerals. Though the palette was designed for winter, gorgeous shimmers are always en vogue, don't you think?
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Sunday, July 6, 2014

OPI This Gown Needs a Crown


Here's a quick Sunday swatch for ya... OPI's This Gown Needs a Crown! This polish was a part of the limited edition Miss Universe 2013 collection, along with two purple creme shades. It's a gorgeous satin-matte sparkly silver, and I love it very much. I believe this is two coats shown.
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Saturday, July 5, 2014

Fiery Summer Chevron Combo


Today's nail art is a quick and fiery chevron combo! This look uses a couple of new Zoya polishes plus one of the brand's more popular shades.
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Thursday, July 3, 2014

Stars and Stripes Basket Weave Nail Art


It's almost the Fourth of July, and I had to get my nails ready to par-tay! I've shown off a couple of polish options for those of you who are not nail art inclined (see here and here), but let's be real -- I'm very nail art inclined! This year I did a sort of basket weave look that combines stars and stripes in a nontraditional pattern.

Looking for more Fourth of July nail art ideas? Check out some looks I've done in the past!
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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Off With Their Heads! Queen of Hearts Nail Art


Who can resist a bit of villain nail art? This design is inspired by The Queen of Hearts from Disney's Alice in Wonderland. While she's not my favorite Disney villain (that honor would probably go to Jafar, or Hades), I do like her and have an appreciation for her one-strike ruling style.

Off with their heads!
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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Nails: The Story of the Modern Manicure


There's a new book on the shelves, and it's essential reading for all of you nailistas! Nails: The Story of the Modern Manicure by Suzanne Shapiro details the history of all things nails, nail polish, and more.

Keep reading for a Q&A with Shapiro about the process of writing Nails, a peek inside the pages (with a few vintage visuals), and swatches and a giveaway of Switchboard Starlet, the limited edition OPI polish that was created as a companion to the book.
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