Nail Challenge Collaborative: Stripes #4 (Halloween)

Phew! I am really cutting it close on this one guys!! I did my fourth and final striped mani for the Nail Challenge Collaborative a few days ago, but then it was a matter of waiting for sun, and taking the pics, and editing the pics, etc etc etc. BUT, it finally got done today just under the wire!

So, I bring you my last striped mani for October - and it's Halloween themed of course!

When I was trying to come up with my last mani, I knew I wanted it to be Halloweenish in some way, and then this one just popped into my head. I did a double striped tip a while back with a Cult Cosmetics kit I got, and I really loved the simple yet clean look of it. So, I opted to try it again with Halloween colors!

I've been loving Different Dimension's Spooky Spooky collection lately, so naturally I reached for Werewolves of London for the orange base. And I wanted to keep the holo theme going, so I went for Digital Nails Pandorica as the accent. These are both stunning polishes - and they are both the only holographic I have in that color, so it was a perfect match. :)

I didn't really think it through all the way though, because both of these polishes are on the sheer side, so doing the stripes was a bit tough. After the base had dried, I applied the tape, and I had to do about 3 coats (2 thicker coats) of polish to really cover up the layer underneath. Of course that meant that when I pulled the striping tape off, some of the first layer had dried some, so my lines aren't the cleanest. But I still love how it came out regardless! I used Seche Vite for topcoat.

I was so glad the sun peeked out even for a moment yesterday so I could capture a couple shots of the amazing holo in both polishes. It's so simple, but still SPARKLES!! :D I also got a shot with the flash just in case the sun decided not to show...

I'm a little sad Halloween is over. I had so many more cool nail ideas but I just didn't get time! This has been a super busy months for me, and a lot of transitions. I hope to get back into nail art more as things quiet down.

What did you think of this mani? I'd love to hear below! And don't forget to look at everyone else's final creations for Stripes month!

<3
Kelly

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Halloween Favorites from Dollish Polish!

Whoa, 2 posts in one day?! This is crazy! Well, to be honest, most of this post has been in the vault since LAST Halloween, and I could not let it wait another year to be seen! :)

Last year, I bought a few of Dollish Polish Halloween Frights collection, and they were seriously amazing! I wore them all and even got photos, but didn't get them up in time, and Halloween had passed :( So I knew I had to share them this year. By the way, Dolly has brought this collection back for this year, so if you missed out on it before, it's not too late - GO GO GO !

First up is The Curse of Michael Myers. 

Description from Dollish Polish:

"Inspired by the movie, Halloween, this fantastic glitter bomb of over a dozen different shades of Orange glitters in a multitude of shapes and sizes."

I layered 2 coats over black for these photos, but I probably should have done one for a more understated look. Either way, this glitter bomb is stunning!! :)

Next up is 1, 2, Freddy's Coming for You. 

"Inspired by the move Nightmare On Elm Street, this glitter topper is chunk-full of multi-sized hexagons in shades of Red, Burgundy, Moss, and Forest Green."

This polish perfectly brings to mind Freddy's Christmas sweater. You might not know this was a Halloween polish if you just saw it on its own because of the Christmas colors, but once you imagine the movie, it's hard to un-see the inspiration! :) I love this movie, and pretty much all the cheesy sequels. 

I layered two coats over a medium grey creme and added topcoat.

And here we have, What An Excellent Day For An Exorcism!

"Inspired by the movie, The Exorcist, this toxic lemon/lime glow-in-the-dark neon jelly has black shards, neon Green & Yellow glitters, as well as Lime holo bar & dot glitters."

Who doesn't love this movie!? It's pretty rare for me that a movie so old can actually really frighten me. What with effects and everything these days, normally older horror movies leave something to be desired for me if I'm truly looking to get scared. This one...not the case. I still get shivers when I think about that crabwalking scene! 

This is 3 coats with topcoat, no undies.

Of course, the first thing this polish brings to mind is the "pea soup" scene. It's such a perfect polish to represent that! The color is striking and the glitters make it look super edgy. And, this one glows in the dark! At the time, I couldn't figure out how to take GITD photos whatsoever, so I actually went out and bought a blacklight for the sole purpose of photographing this baby. I was not giving up! Haha :)

I ended up getting a couple decent shots showing off the glow. I couldn't get it to glow super strongly just in the plain dark, but wow - under blacklight, it was amazing how bright it glowed!!! :) 

And, last for today - this one doesn't quite fit in with the 2013 Halloween Frights collection. That's because it's a part of the 2012 This is Halloween line - Deadly Nightshade!

I bought a couple from this collection when it came out, but never got around to photographing a few of them. Now I'm mad I waited - this is such a fun purple for Halloween!

Deadly Nightshade is a fairly sheer purple shimmery jelly base with black, purple, teal, and blue glitters in it. It could probably be built up but I chose to layer 2 coats over Sinful Colors Amethyst.

Which ones from these two collections did you pick up? Are there any that you are still lusting after? If you were having second thoughts about not grabbing the Halloween Frights collex last year, I recommend you pick them up now while they're still available! You can view them and all the other pretties Dolly has created, by clicking here. Her latest Zombie collex looks awesome!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Halloween!
<3
Kelly

Different Dimension: Spooky Spooky collection swatches

Hey guys! I'm so excited to share this post with you today, I really did not think I was gonna make it before Halloween! I've been so off with this new work schedule, I haven't had tons of time for swatching, but I made it. Different Dimension's Spooky Spooky collection was THE one Halloween collex I knew I needed this year, because I literally loved every single shade in the collection. There were a couple collections that I would have been happy to have, but money was tight this year, so I had to limit myself. After seeing swatches, it was not hard to choose this as the one I needed!

Before I show you the swatches, I wanna say that this was my first experience with Different Dimension, and it really was a great one. I was really excited to hear about her a couple years ago because she is based out of a city super close to the town I grew up in, and I was like whoa! Indie polishes can happen back home?! Cause it seems like nothing good or interesting ever happens there, haha. Point being, I had built up trying Different Dimension for a long time and I'm so glad I finally did. These all really exceeded my expectations. Formulas were great and the color combinations are unique and inspired. So, without further ado....

I'm going to start off with Werewolves of London. This is a stunning pumpkin orange holographic, so beyond perfect for Halloween! I used three coats plus topcoat for these photos.

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Next, I have Thriller. This is a really fun, unique shade. You almost wouldn't think Halloween if this one stood alone, but along with the others, it is a great addition to a Halloween collection! Thriller is a purple jelly with red/pink microshimmer and micro flakies. I got so many compliments on this. These photos show 3 coats with topcoat. I thought it would be much sheerer than it actually was :)

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Indirect natural sunlight

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Next up is Ghostbusters - this one actually glows in the dark! Super cool. It's a sort of peachy toned orange with translucent iridescent glitters. I used 3 coats plus topcoat for these photos.

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I'm not the greatest at capturing GITD polishes, but I had to give it a shot. I'm kinda disappointed in how these came out, this was glowing so brightly in person! I've gotta work on my technique. Anyway, here is my attempt to capture this gorgeous neon orange glow. :)

Dark, iPhone photo, charged with LED lightbulb

This next polish is called Dragula. It is an amazingly Halloweeny microglitter in black and orange, and I swear green, but I could be crazy. When looking at the bottle, I originally thought the microglitters were in a clear base, but they are actually in an orange jelly base! So, this polish can easily be layered to opacity without undies. It's meant to be a texture, but I wore it with topcoat because I prefer a shiny finish. This is about 3 thick coats of Dragula, 1 coat of Gelish, and 1 coat of HK Girl.

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Next up is Monster Mash. This is a awesome glitter topper full of orange,white and black dots in various sizes, orange and black triangles, black and white stars, and a holographic microshimmer! This topper screams Halloween :] I used two coats over Werewolves of London plus topcoat, for the photos below.

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I found my macro lens that I bought a while back and decided to take a few photos - I love how this glitter mix looks up close! :)

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I also tried Monster Mash over Thriller. I like this combination way better! All of the different colors and glitters really pop over Thriller. It's a great contrast, and it really is the perfect Halloween mani, with next to no effort. This is 2 coats of Monster Mash over Thriller, with topcoat.

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And, a macro shot! I loved this combination so much. I think this will be my official Halloween mani - even though I'm not doing anything except working. Why not be festive? :D

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Overall, I think Different Dimension really hit it out of the park for Halloween. This set could not be more perfect! There is something for everyone: a holographic, a jelly/shimmer, a glitter topper, a glow in the dark, and a microglitter/texture! It's a really well-rounded collection and I'm so glad I got it. Any one of these would make for a perfect, super simple Halloween look. As I've said, formulas were all great - no issues to report. Also, when you buy the entire set, you save a bit and it ends up being a really great deal! Right now it's on sale for $41.50, making the polishes $8.30 a piece. I know it's too late for Halloween now, but it could never hurt to have for next year! :)

Did you pick up this set? Which ones are your favorites? I'd love to hear. Thanks for looking! <3
Kelly

Nail Challenge Collaborative: Stripes #3 (Mentality Black Line Holos)

Happy Monday! I'm still getting used to my new work schedule and staying up late after working 1st shift all those months. For now, my "weekends" are Tuesday and Wednesday, so weirdly enough, while most of you are dreading today because it's Monday, it's actually my Friday! Haha, that sounded way more confusing than I thought it would.

Today I have a nail art that I've been so excited to share. This is my 3rd look for the Nail Challenge Collaborative's Stripe theme, and this was the look that popped into my head when pondering over ideas. I knew I wanted to use some of the Mentality Black Line Holos, and I knew I wanted to create kind of "wonky" uneven stripes, but this turned out even cooler than it looked in my head! :)

I ended up going with my favorite 4 shades of the Black Line Holo collex: Combat, Battle, Resist, and Inhibit. I started with a different base on each nail, then topcoated, then use little pieces of tape to create the stripes. I did each stripe at a slight angle to create the kind of wobbly looking effect. I actually used one piece of tape to create each line, and the edges that weren't taped I was able to paint straight across using just the brush that came with the polish! These polishes are so wonderfully pigmented, they needed just one coat each to look this vibrant.

After all the stripes were done and I had a little tape graveyard on my table, I let these dry for a bit and then topped it off with another layer of HK Girl. I guess I didn't wait quite long enough, because I smeared some of the polish after wrapping my tips, but I think it still looks pretty. :)

I cannot say enough good things about this collection from Mentality. It's such a perfect fall collection, so versatile and lovely for nail art! There are just so many things you can do with it. Last weekend, I wore Dissent to my dad's wedding. It was neutral enough for a formal occasion, but still blingy and sparkly to show off some personality.

Here's one more shot with flash to really show off how the pop of the different colors and the holo sparkle. These would have been gorgeous in the sun - if we had any! :(

I just cannot get enough of this look, I definitely think I want to try it out with some of the other Black Line Holo shades from Mentality. This kind of simple nail art would look pretty in a lot of different color palettes. I think I will be trying out some more soon! :)

What do you think of this look? I'd love to hear! And be sure to check out what the others came up with for Week 3!

Kelly

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Pahlish: Black Lace Elderberry

HI guys! I'm still working my way through my Halloweeny swatches and nail art. Today I've got a swatch of a polish that I feel is great for Halloween parties or could go with a lot of costumes. Something about it, probably the color scheme, just reminds me of Halloween. 

This is Pahlish Black Lace Elderberry! :)

I bought this polish during a sale a while back because the colors were just so unique and eye-catching to me. And of course, I've yet to come across a Pahlish I don't like. This was no exception. Formula was great. This is just 2 coats with topcoat. It's got a really pigmented bright purple jelly base that builds up nicely. It's got a great shimmer to it! And it's full of flakies and various orange glitters that disperse evenly and lay completely flat with a coat of topcoat.

Here's a shot in the shade, this way you can really see how the glitter pop in the bright base.

And here's a shot with flash. This polish is so amazingly vibrant, I love it!

What do you think of this polish? What's your favorite Pahlish shade? I'd love to hear below!

Thanks for looking! <3
Kelly

Nail Challenge Collaborative: Stripes #2

Hi everyone!! I hope you're having a great week. I'm in a great mood today because we had our engagement photos done yesterday and it was such a blast!! Plus, I'm a very anxious person so I had been worrying about it, so now that it's done, I can breathe a sigh of relief and just wait now for the final photos to come back. :)

Now, onto the nail art! This is my second striped look for this month's NCC theme and I really loved how this turned out.

I started with a base of two colors I received in the free Julep Halloween intro box, Tatiana and Queen Anne is the accent.

Julep describes Tatiana as a burnt orange microglitter, but I thought I caught glimpses of glass flecks in there too. It had great coverage, shown here is only 2 easy coats. Queen Anne is a pinkish purple microglitter that dries to a textured finish. I added a coat of Gelous and then Seche Vite to add shine since the texture wouldn't have meshed well with the final look I was going for.

After the topcoat was fully dried (in fact, I wore this for a full day because I liked it that much!) I applied striping tape in different directions and I painted over it with the other polish that came in this box, Jet. I peeled off the tape while the black polish was still wet, let that dry a bit and then added Seche Vite topcoat.

I thought this look turned out really pretty, and perfect for Halloween! They remind me witches' tights. :)

I got this Julep box for free, I saw the offer on a freebie website and figured I'd try it even though I've subscribed to Julep once before. I think because I've moved since my last subscription, it worked and I got this box free! :) It included all the polishes that I've used here (except the topcoat) as well as a gel eyeliner, which I haven't gotten the chance to try yet. I still don't know if I'd subscribe again to Julep, I just don't know if the products you receive are quite worth the price, but this box was a real winner in my opinion! I love all of the shades, especially Tatiana!

Thanks for looking! And don't forget to check out the other blogger's Week 2 posts!

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