Glam Nails Challenge: Dec.13 - Poinsettia

Hi guys! Today's mani is for Dec.13 of the Glam Nails Challenge, and the theme was Poinsettia. I know I'm late with the challenges again, but I plan on finishing this. So I apologize to those of you that don't want to see holiday manis anymore, but expect more of them. Lol. Anyway, I started off with a golden yellow holo for my base and began to look for an image that would help me achieve the look of a poinsettia. I didn't have any poinsettia images, so I took a leaf image and used that. I first stamped it on with a green polish and added a lighter green to create the leaves. I then used a dark red polish and added red to make the petals of the flower. It could've come out better to be honest, I did regret not adding some white to the back of the flower. It would've popped more. Last thing I did, was add some golden dots near the middle of the flowers, let that dry, and added top coat.

Close-Ups:

Well I hope you guys still like these, even though they do look a bit weird. Thanks for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana

Products Used:
Golden Yellow: MDJ Creations "Cappuccino"
Dark Red: Serendipity Polish "Less Whine, More Wine!"
Red: Jessica Cosmetics "Royal Red"
Dark Green: Serendipity Polish "Cash Flow Queen"
Light Green: Bonita Colors "Wild Guess"
Top Coat: Seche Vite
Leaf Stamping Plate: Born Pretty Store item #38741 (Floral BPX-L018)
Medium Clear Jelly Stamper: Born Pretty Store item #26498
Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool: Born Pretty Store item #32220
Cuticle Guard Peel-Off Latex: Born Pretty Store item #36614

*Giveaway Prizes: Jessica Cosmetics "Royal Red"; Serendipity Polish "Less Whine, More Wine!", "Cash Flow Queen".
*Past Press Samples: MDJ Creations "Cappuccino"; Born Pretty Store Leaf Stamping Plate, Medium Clear Jelly Stamper, Manicure Saver Cotton Claw Tool.

Once Upon a Winter Midnight

 Purchased By Me / Press Sample 

Hi guys! Today I have a swatch and some easy nail art with nail stickers. So let's get to it.

This is Once Upon A Winter Midnight, a Limited Edition polish by MDJ Creations. I purchased this beauty during Melissa's Black Friday sale, and I'm so glad I did. It's a dark navy blue jelly polish with white and silver holo glitter. The glitter mix contains snowflake, moon, diamond, circle and hex glitters. Since this polish has a lot of large glitter, I flipped the bottle upside down for some time. I applied 2 coats with no problem, and I didn't really have to fish for the glitter. The pictures show 2 coats plus top coat.

Holding MDJ Creations' "Once Upon A Winter Midnight":

I just love the glitter mix. Don't you?

Close-Up:

For the nail art part, I just decided to place some Christmas nail stickers over my swatch. I got the stickers at the 99 cents only store during their holiday clearance sale. I was hoping they would be good, but unfortunately, they didn't stick on too well.

The stickers do look adorable, but I did struggle with keeping them down on my nail. Even after I added the top coat, they kept lifting, so I had to hold them in place with my orange wood stick until the top coat dried.

Well I hope you guys liked the swatch and mani. I know the holidays have been over for some time already, but I wanted to try these nail stickers out.

Thank you so much for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana

Polishes Used:
MDJ Creations "Once Upon A Winter Midnight" (LE)
Love, Angeline "Topped With Love"

*Love, Angeline "Topped With Love" was a Press Sample.

A Weekly Dose of Rainbows: Rainbow Fireworks

 Purchased By Me / Press Sample 

Hi guys! I hope you all had a Happy New Year with your families, and I wish you all a blessed year. Can you believe we're already a week into 2016? Time sure does fly.

So today I have a better look at my New Year's Eve mani which I posted on Instagram.

Holding Wet N Wild "Black Creme":

Last week's theme for A Weekly Dose of Rainbows was Rainbow Fireworks, so I incorporated a firework in my mani. I used Wet N Wild "Black Creme" as my base color. On my middle finger I added '2016' down my nail with acrylic paint, and gold glitter paint dots as well. For the firework on my ring finger, I used: white, gold, copper, gold glitter, and black paint. It's my first time doing a firework, so it didn't come out so good, but it's ok. On the rest of my nails I did a glitter gradient using MDJ Creations' "Leg Warmers".

Side-View:

Close-Ups:

The mani came out nicely. I like how the colors in "Leg Warmers" matched and added color to my mani.

Well I hope you guys liked the design. Thanks for stopping by, and until next time.
-Ana

Polishes Used:
Black: Wet N Wild "Black Creme"
Glitter Topper: MDJ Creations "Leg Warmers"
Top Coat: Love, Angeline "Topped With Love"

*Love, Angeline's "Topped With Love" was a Press Sample.

MDJ Creations Review

 Press Sample / Purchased By Me 

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Today I have a review for you guys.

A while back I was asked by Melissa, owner of MDJ Creations, if I'd be interested in reviewing some of her polishes. I said I'd be happy to, and here's what she sent.

First up we have More Than Meets The Eye which is part of her A Night Out Collection. It's a light gray crelly with various sized hex glitters in a variety of pinks, silver holo shimmer glitter, tiny silver holo bars, and colorful flakies. I actually like the combination of pinks and gray, they go well together. The polish went on nicely without struggle, and it dried pretty fast too. I turned the bottle upside down for a while before applying, and I didn't have to fish for glitter. The pictures show 2 coats plus top coat, and matte top coat on the ring finger.

Holding "More Than Meets The Eye":

2 coats plus top coat/matte top coat on ring finger:

Glossy/Matte Comparison:

Next is Cappuccino, a beautiful golden caramel holo polish which is part of the Dessert Duo. This polish went on so smoothly, I absolutely loved it. The pictures show 2 coats plus top coat, and matte top coat on the ring finger.

Holding "Cappuccino":

2 coats plus top coat/matte top coat on ring finger:

Glossy/Matte Comparison:

I thought it was so pretty, I just had to pair it with MDJ Creations' "Leg Warmers" (which I purchased during Melissa's Black Friday sale). They go together beautifully, don't you think?

MDJ Creations "Leg Warmers" glitter gradient over "Cappuccino":

Pinky Close-Up:

Close-Ups:

Lastly, we have the cuticle oil. Melissa sent me the Honeysuckle Cuticle Oil, the label says it includes 'Therapeutic Frankincense and Lavender Oil'. Honestly, this scent isn't really for me. The scent choosing is about preference though, so that would be all up to what you'd like. Even though I did not enjoy the smell, I very much liked how it made my cuticles feel, especially because I didn't have to use so much to moisturize. A little goes a long way guys. Putting less than a drop per finger was perfect because it didn't leave my fingers all oily. I just massaged the oil into my cuticles and let my skin absorb it. Basically, I thought the cuticle oil was good, it did its job and that's what counts.

Holding Honeysuckle Cuticle Oil:

This is my first time using MDJ Creations' products, and I have to say I'm quite impressed. The polish formulas were great, and the cuticle oil worked well. I've linked Melissa's store and Instagram below in case you're interested. Please know that her store is currently on Christmas break, but it'll open back up on January 14th, 2016. If you'd like to be notified by email when the shop re-opens, you can go to the store and sign up by clicking on the blue button, you can't miss it.

MDJ Creations (Melissa): Store - Instagram

Thank you so much for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana

Top Coats Used:
Glossy: Love, Angeline "Topped With Love"
Matte: Wet N Wild "Matte Top Coat"

*MDJ Creations "More Than Meets The Eye", "Cappuccino", Honeysuckle Cuticle Oil are Press Samples; Love, Angeline "Topped With Love" was a Press Sample.