"Licorice Whip" Galaxy Mani

 Press Sample / Purchased By Me / Gift / Giveaway Prize 

Hi guys! Just like I promised, here is my galaxy mani post. Like I said on my last post, Melody from Envy Lacquer wanted to host a contest where some of us ladies would create a galaxy mani featuring her polish Licorice Whip as a base. This polish makes a great base for a galaxy mani, but that doesn't mean it can't be worn on its own.

Holding Envy Lacquer "Licorice Whip":

I used many polishes in this mani apart from Licorice Whip. I started off with sponging on a pattern across my nails with white polish, and little by little added the colors over the white. I used a variety of blues, purples and pinks mostly. In order for the colors to blend well and make a nice transition, I had to go over them a few times, kind of like you'd do a gradient. Once I was happy with it I let it dry, and then sponged on a tiny bit of Wet N Wild Kaleidoscope and Black Label Nails' Frosty's Mistress over some parts of the galaxy. Frosty's Mistress gave it an iridescent sheen which looked great on the galaxy. Some of the little stars were done with polish, but I finished them off with acrylic paint because the polish was getting stringy, and I also used paint to do the larger stars. To finish off, I added top coat.

Side View:

Close-Ups:

I really like how my galaxy mani came out, I didn't think it would look ok. I'm always a bit nervous when attempting to do a galaxy mani, especially since I only used polishes.

Anyways, I hope you liked the mani. Thanks for stopping by and until next time.
-Ana

Polishes Used:
Envy Lacquer "Licorice Whip"
Sinful Colors "Snow Me White"
Wet N Wild "Kaleidoscope"
Black Label Nails "Frosty's Mistress"
Wet N Wild "Bijou Blue"
Wet N Wild "Blue Moon"
Sinful Colors "Keira Blu"
Lavish Polish "Hydrangeas"
Bonita Colors "Ocean's Eleven"
Lavish Polish "Wisteria"
Lavish Polish "Tulips"
Bonita Colors "Hydrangeas Are My Fav"
Beauty Concepts "No Name"
Charlotte Russe "No Name"
Glisten & Glow "HK Girl Glossy Top Coat"

*Black Label Nails "Frosty's Mistress"; Lavish Polish "Hydrangeas", "Wisteria", "Tulips"; and Glisten & Glow "HK Girl" were all giveaway prizes, Envy Lacquer "Licorice Whip" was sent to me to use on this galaxy mani

The Polished Bookworms: July 2015

 Gift / Purchased By Me / Giveaway Prize* 

Hi guys! I can't believe it's already time for another TPB mani. Anyway, July's read was Along Came A Spider by James Patterson. It was a pretty long book, I felt like I'd never finish it in time. Lol! But I did, and I felt so accomplished. It was a good read, and it has a twist which I suspected since I've seen a bit of the movie. Actually my dad was watching it, and I happened to see a piece of it, haha. But yeah, I won't say what happens so I won't spoil it for anyone.

I had no idea what I was going to do for my mani. I thought about the many events in the story, but did not know how to depict them. So, I decided I was just going to do the cover art. I did the gradient from the cover, and changed my mind about adding the house and spider from the cover. Instead, I got out some spider temporary tattoos and went with that. I added spiders and spiderwebs over the gradient, and it came out ok. I had some difficulty with the temporary tattoos this time around for some reason, so some of the spiders' legs didn't transfer on right. To correct that, I went in with my brush and some black acrylic paint. To finish the mani I used a matte top coat, I thought it'd look much better that way.

Close-Ups:

With the Book:

Oh, and if you'd like to join the book club, you can. I've linked the pages below in case you're interested.

The Polished Bookworms: Instagram - Facebook Group - Facebook Page

Well thanks for stopping by, I hope you all enjoyed this short post. Until next time, bye.
-Ana

Polishes Used:
Purple: Beauty Concepts "No Name"
Pink: Wet N Wild "Dreamy Poppy"
Yellow: Lavish Polish "Daffodils"*
Matte: Wet N Wild "Matte Top Coat"

An InLinkz Link-up

Neon Rainbow Collab

Happy Friday guys! I thought it was time to join another fun nail art collaboration. This collab was hosted by Amber from @nailslikelace. I always have fun doing these collabs, and Amber is always so nice and welcoming to anyone that wants to join. The theme for the collab this time was Neon Rainbow. Check out the collage Amber made, it turned out great.

Collage by Amber:

Solo Shot:

For my mani, I used 4 different neons. I chose a lime green, an orange, a bright pink and a purple. I decided to do a sideways gradient, but first, I began with a coat of white polish so the colors would look brighter. The gradient was done with polishes, and like I mentioned in another post, I have not yet mastered polish gradients. So once again, tiny pieces of sponge stayed behind on my nails. After finishing the gradient, I added a coat of Wet N Wild "Kaleidoscope" to give it some sparkle, and then top coat to seal it all in.

Holding Beauty Concepts "No Name":

I'm so glad I was able to participate in another collaboration, it was fun. Anyways, thanks for stopping by everyone. I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and until next time.
-Ana

Polishes Used:
White: Wet N Wild "French White Creme"
Green: Wet N Wild (Fergie) "Glowstick"
Orange: Wet N Wild "Sunny Side Up"
Pink: Charlotte Russe "No Name"
Purple: Beauty Concepts "No Name"
Glitter Topper: Wet N Wild "Kaleidoscope"
Glossy Top Coat: LACC Beauty "2013 Top Coat"

Neon Gradient + Stars and Moon Nail Art

Hi guys! I hope you had a lovely weekend, and Happy Memorial Day! Today I have some nail art inspired by Kimberlyn from @nailmachine on IG. I was planning on doing a mani with an orange/pink/purple gradient, only thing was that I couldn't figure out what to put on them. So I go on IG, and as I'm scrolling through my feed I came across Kimberlyn's cute nail art design. It was such a coincidence that she used the same gradient, so I thought I'd recreate it. The nail art design was inspired by her. By the way, my camera totally freaked out with the neon polishes. I just wish you could see the pink and purple better on all the pictures. The pink looks more orange, and the purple looks pink on the first pictures.

I always struggle with gradients when I use polish. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, lol. Pieces of the sponge stay behind and just makes the mani bumpy and weird, which is why I prefer to use acrylic paint for my gradients. Anyways, I hope that with practice I get the hang of it. So, I did the orange/pink/purple gradient and topped it off with Wet N Wild "Kaleidoscope". Because, well glitter! Hehe. I put on a coat of matte top coat for a smoother surface, and once dry, I did the design with white acrylic paint. I finished it off with top coat.

Holding Charlotte Russe "No Name":

I absolutely love how these turned out. Going through that gradient struggle was totally worth it. Lol!
Well that's it for this post everyone. Thanks for stopping by and until next time.
-Ana

Polishes Used:
Orange: Wet N Wild "Sunny Side Up"
Pink: Charlotte Russe "No Name"
Purple: Beauty Concepts "No Name"
Glitter Topper: Wet N Wild "Kaleidoscope"
Matte Top Coat: Wet N Wild "Matte Top Coat"
Glossy Top Coat: LACC Beauty "2013 Top Coat"

Bonita Colors and Beauty Concepts

Hey guys, I have some swatches for you. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know I purchased some polishes at the 99 cents only store, all Bonita Colors. My very first Bonita Colors! The Beauty Concepts polish was a gift for my Birthday from my sister, which she got at the Dollar Tree (also my first of the brand). I told some of you she purchased it at Walmart, but apparently I was mistaken, so I apologize for the confusion.

So, here are the pictures of the polishes:
Top Pictures, Left to Right:
"Forever And A Day", "Kiss And Tell", "Hydrangeas Are My Fav", "Ocean's Eleven", and "Lucky Penny"
Bottom Pictures, Left to Right:
Unnamed polish, "Smashin' Fashion", and "Spice It Up"

And here are the swatches.

Left to Right:

Bonita Colors "Ocean's Eleven" (1 coat)

Bonita Colors "Kiss And Tell" (2 coats)

Bonita Colors "Smashin' Fashion" (2 coats)

Bonita Colors "Hydrangeas Are My Fav" (1 coat)

Glossy Top Coat:

 Matte Top Coat:

Left to Right:

Bonita Colors "Lucky Penny" (2 coats)

Bonita Colors "Forever And A Day" (2 coats)

Bonita Colors "Spice It Up" (2 coats)

Unnamed polish by Beauty Concepts (2 coats)

Glossy Top Coat:

 Matte Top Coat:

All of the polishes went on easily, I didn't have any problem with the formula or anything. Some of these polishes were actually okay with 1 coat which was great. For example, "Ocean's Eleven" and "Hydrangeas Are My Fav" were opaque with just 1 coat. I love all the colors, and I finally have a really good glitter polish ("Spice It Up").

Oh, and of course I had to see them Matte, aren't they gorgeous?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the post.

Top Coats Used:

Wet N Wild (Wild Shine) "Clear Nail Protector"

Wet N Wild (Wild Shine) "Matte Top Coat"