KB Shimmer: Make My Gray

Hi everyone! Today I've got a quick swatch post to share with you. This polish is probably one of my all-time favorites ever - Make my Gray from KB Shimmer!

KB Shimmer puts out some crazy unique glitter/base combinations, and this is no exception! KB Shimmer describes this one as follows: 

"A pale shade of gray sets off glitters in turquoise, gunmetal, pale aqua and coral. Wear alone in 3 coats, or layer this over a grey like My Life’s Porpoise for a unique spring manicure."

These photos show 3 coats of Make my Gray with Seche Vite topcoat. I had no trouble at all building this one up, and I like the depth it shows that way. However, to conserve polish, I'm sure one coat over gray would be gorgeous too, like KB Shimmer suggested on their site. I experienced no trouble with application, despite how packed with glitter it is. Everything distributed evenly - what you see here is how it went on the nail with normal brushstrokes.

Make my Gray retails for 8.75 and it can be purchased now from the KB Shimmer website. While you're there, be sure to check out not only their stunning polish line, but their new nail vinyls, hand care selection, and bath and body products!
Also, follow KB Shimmer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up to date on new collections!

Thanks for reading! <3
Kelly

Cult Cosmetics: Spring Bling BlackBox nail art

*Press sample*

Happy Monday loves! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I had to work for part of it, so mine wasn't all that great, but what can you do?

Today I have another amazing kit to show you from Cult Cosmetics - the Spring Bling BlackBox!

Here's some information about the BlackBox, Cult's monthly subscription box, from the Cult website: 

"Introducing BLACKBOX by CULT. With BLACKBOX, every month you’ll receive the latest nail colors and looks... along with tips, tools and occasional bonuses every month. We never test on animals, we ship fast, and because we don’t spend millions a month on TV ads, we can give you a better quality product at only a fraction of the cost."

The current Blackbox is called Summer Chic, and you can see it by clicking here.

As I mentioned, today I'll be showing you the Spring Bling box, and you can see it by clicking here. You can get it for 9.99 if you are a new member!

It includes the following:

- Hermosa Beach by CULT (0.5 oz, $12 value), a summery bright pink

- Hollywood Hills by CULT (0.5 oz, $12 value), a feminine ballerina pink

 
- Laguna by CULT (0.5 oz, $12 value), a fun tropical coral

- Swarovski crystal ring (Size 7, $40 value)

For this mani, I used all of the above except Laguna - I thought the coral might clash with the girly pink look I was going for! :)

I started off with a base of Hollywood Hills on all except the accent nails, which I used a base of Hermosa Beach. I used 3 coats of Hollywood Hills, but I could have probably gotten away with 2, especially since I was painting over the tips. I thought HH was going to be really sheer since it's such a light color, but it actually built up nicely. I applied HK Girl topcoat to all the nails, and I stuck a bow that I bought from Born Pretty Store on the accent while topcoat was still tacky. I just happened to have a bow that matched HH pretty closely! Once the topcoat was dry, I put two pieces of striping tape on the index, middle, and pinky nails. Then, I painted over the tip of the nails with Hermosa Beach and peeled the tape off while still wet. Added another layer of topcoat and voila! :)

Here is a shot in the shade, since all the rest were in direct sunlight. I love the way these two colors look together!

Okay, so you're wondering about the Swarovski ring, right? It fits perfectly on my ring finger, but I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to show it and the nails in a photo that way. So...cue awkward hand pose and the ring on my thumb!

And, a close-up of the gorgeous ring! I absolutely love it, it's stunning! :)

I really loved this BlackBox. The three polish colors included go very well together, and to me, they're all staples that every polish addict should have. I'm a sucker for warm colors like pinks and corals, though, so I'm biased. :) Also, the ring that's included is gorgeous (super sparkly!) - and you could receive it in one of several colors. It's a great accessory to have on hand for jazzing up an outfit.

Cult Blackboxes retail for 19.99 per month + s/h,but new members receive 50% off your first box! Also don't forget to check out Cult's polishes a la carte as well as their nail art kits !
Check out Cult Cosmetics on Facebook and Instagram as well to stay up to date on new products and kits.

I'd love to hear what you think of this mani! Is this something you'd wear? Let me know below <3
Kelly

These products were provided to me in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I am a Sponsored Nail Artist for Cult Cosmetics, but that does not affect my review of these products. Please see my Disclosure Statement for more information.

ModCloth Nail Art: Inspired by a Dress!

Hey there loves! Hope you had a great weekend! I spent mine relaxing on Saturday and then I went to Dayton's Celtic Festival with my fiance and his parents. It was awesome! We heard some great bands, and had yummy food and cider. I don't want to go back to real life!! :(

Anyway, I have a really fun post to share with you today! I was recently contacted by ModCloth and asked to join in on a nail art challenge they are having. I was so excited to be a part of this! :)

ModCloth's Nail Klub had posted a blogpost explaining the concept - basically, take one of their dresses and translate it onto your nails. I had so much fun browsing the dresses to try to choose one to recreate. They are so many unique and gorgeous dresses - I wanted them all. While searching, I kept in mind that I have a lot of friends getting married in the near future, and I wanted to look for something I could wear to a wedding, but still wear to work or just on date night out. I wanted something girly, pretty, but versatile, so it could work in a lot of situations. Ultimately, after a lot of searching, one design kept calling to me - Promoting Elegance in Bubbles!

I knew I wanted to do this one because as soon as I saw the dress, I envisioned it on my nails! And, this dress is so very me. Here's how the nail art look turned out:

I started with a white base because the nude color I wanted to use was so sheer. But it was the closest color I had to the dress background. I then went in with three coats of Sally Hansen Bold Buff. For the dots, I used Sinful Black on Black and Cult Cosmetics Laguna, and my Born Pretty Store dotter. I used HK Girl topcoat, and stuck on the bow I got in a Nail Art Society kit while the topcoat was still wet.

I thought this turned out so cute, and I think it matches the dress really well!

Overall, I was blown away by the selection of dresses I found on ModCloth. Be sure to check out their website to see the Promoting Elegance dress I loved, as well as tons more gorgeous dresses. I loved the selection of party dresses. As I mentioned, I have a bunch of weddings coming up in this next year, and there are SO many dresses on the site that would be perfect for me for those occasions. There are also a huge selection of dresses I'd wear to work, for a girl's night out, or even just day to day. I love quirky, fun, unique designs, and ModCloth has no shortage of those! Check them out :)

I'd love to hear what you think of this mani! Can you see the inspiration from the dress in the mani?
Thanks for reading,
Kelly

Jindie Nails swatches: Higher Flower and Patience is a Virtue

Hello everyone! Today I have swatches of two Jindie Nails polishes to share with you! 

First up is the amazing stunner Higher Flower. It's incredibly bright and the depth is gorgeous. I seriously could not stop staring at my nails when I had this on!

Here's the description from Jindie Nails shop:
"The most beautiful and highly pigmented neon pink polish, loaded with micro flakes and holographic micro glitters in purple and silver.  The flakie colors are bronze, silver, purple, pink and blue.  The silver flakies are bits of real silver.  It's divine and opaque in 1-2 coats."

Even though this polish looks like a jelly, it's very opaque. These photos show 2 coats with topcoat. :)

Next up is an unreleased polish called Patience is a Virtue. This one was created to make up for a longer than usual shipping time. I would say it made the wait well worth it! Sorry to tease you with it, but it's too pretty not to share! :)

Patience is a Virtue is a berry-pink shimmer full of glitters in shades of blue, purple, and pink. I had no trouble with formula, the glitters spread out nicely. Photos show 3 coats with topcoat.

What do you think of these polishes? You can check out Higher Flower and all of the other Jindie Nails pretties by clicking here. :)

Thanks for looking!
Kelly

Myrtle Beach Vacation nails

Hey guys! I'm really excited to finally share this post with you! A couple weeks ago, my fiance and I traveled to Myrtle Beach with my family for vacation and I (of course) did my nails for the trip.

The first ones, and probably my favorites, were these striped palm tree nails that you may have seen me share on Instagram! :)

I tried to be artsy and get the sand in the back of these shots lol. The sun on the beach was great for picture taking! I started with a base of black, applied striping tape and painted on each color one at a time. From top to bottom, I used: Wet n Wild On a Trip, Sinful Thimbleberry, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Dreamsicle, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Glow With It, an unnamed Summer Brights blue, and Sinful Mint Tropics. I topcoated with Seche Vite before I freehanded palm trees using my Stripe Rite striper, then topcoated again. Phew! It was a lot of work, but worth it in the end. :)

Not a great shot of the nails because the sun was behind them, but I managed to get an ocean backdrop! :)

On my non-dominant hand, I had to do something still pretty, but nothing intricate. My left hand is useless for nail art! So, I tried a mermaid look! :)

I already had some tip wear by this point from all the digging in the sand, but this mani really held up for the most part! I started with a base of Zoya Logan and sponged a bit of Zoya Zuza around randomly on the nail. Then, I added 2 coats of Orly Mermaid Tale. I love how it sparkles!

And of course, because I truly have a polishing problem, I had to change my mani halfway through the vacation! I had seen Chalkboard Nails Starfish Mani and I wanted to try my best to recreate it!

I started with a base of Wet n Wild A Venice Day. I really like this yellow! It's a little thin but buildable. I've been looking for good yellows. I don't like this one quite as much as Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Glow With It, but it's not bad. Then, I followed Chalkboard Nails' example and painted on little starfish using China Glaze Pool Party, a dotting tool and a small nail art brush. I followed that up with some purple dots using the smallest end of my dotting tool. I used Seche Vite topcoat.

These were so much more vibrant in person! They looked great on the beach too, I wish I had gotten some photos in the sand.

I absolutely loved all my vacation nails! I felt like they were super fun for summer and I got so many compliments on them. It always feels nice when you have a group of people cluster around you in awe of your nail art haha! :)
I'd love to hear what you think of these looks? Which is your favorite? I'd love to hear below!

<3
Kelly

Swatch: Scofflaw Nail Varnish - David Bowie's Bulge

Hi everyone, happy Saturday! I actually have to work today, so it's not all that happy for me, but to cheer myself up, I'm posting a fun, bright swatch! :)

This polish was my first experience with Scofflaw Nail Varnish. I bought this and one more polish about a year ago, and I'm so glad I did! The colors are amazing and the quality of the polish is wonderful too. Today I am showing you David Bowie's Bulge.

....the nail polish. Haha, I couldn't stop giggling when I was wearing this mani, just thinking about the funny name. Like, hey everyone, check out David Bowie's Bulge! Teehee! I'm ten.

These photos show 3 thin coats with Seche Vite topcoat.

The label had some very cool David Bowie makeup inspired art printed on it. I thought that was a really cool touch!

Here is the polish description from Scofflaw:
"This polish is a nod to the iconic Aladdin Sane album cover, with Bowie's face paint translated into a rich, deep coral polish with subtle shimmer. It's accented with matte and holographic teal glitters of various sizes and also features small dark red glitters and a bronze microglitter. It's completely opaque in two or three coats."

I wouldn't have thought of this color combination on my own, but it really does work together amazing well! The coral base is gorgeous, and the pops of teal are so bright and eye-catching. It's a really fun polish for summer, it kind of reminds me of tropical beaches for some reason.

Here's a shot with flash, a bit more color-accurate than the ones in direct sunlight above.

My first impression of Scofflaw Nail Varnish was great!! I definitely want to try more of their polishes (Arcane Sugar, I'm looking at you). Formula was absolutely perfect, I experienced no issues with clumping glitters or dragging at all. :)
Be sure to check out the Scofflaw Nail Varnish shop and Facebook page to keep up to date on restocks and new shades! They have a ridiculously amazing new collection launching on July 27th, so mark your calendars for that!

Thanks for reading,
Kelly

Review: Nail Art Society Festival Princess kit!

*Press sample*

Good morning lovelies! I have another review for you today, this time it's the Festival Princess kit from Nail Art Society!

Nail Art Society kits retail for $11.95 plus s/h. You will receive one kit per month, full of goodies hand picked and curated by a team of Renowned Artists, including myself! Along with the polishes and tools, you receive nail art tips and tricks from the Renowned Artists! I think it is a great value - worth well above the price you pay. Click here to become a subscriber and get signed up for the next kit!!

The Festival Princess kit includes a full set of NCLA Nail Wraps in Summer of Love (which retail for $16), an NCLA nail polish (I received I'm With the Band, these retail for $16), a package of gold nail studs, and an orange stick, all in adorable Nail Art Society branded packaging! I just love that little touch.

I instantly fell in love with these nail strips! The designs are so eclectic, and felt very bohemian to me, which is very much my style. 

Each package of nail wraps includes its own NCLA nail file to be used filing off the ends of your strips. I put this one in my end table after using the strips and I've been using it ever since. It really is a great little file, and I thought the pink gradient was really pretty.

I'm not the absolute best at applying nail strips to say the least haha. I can usually manage without bubbles, but I have not mastered the nail tips yet. I always end up with such obvious tip showing, I wish there was a way to wrap the tip with the nail strip...well, there probably is and I just don't know how! Anywho, I started with a coat of NCLA I'm With the Band on all nails. I applied a full nail trip to one nail and cut the others into shapes for funsies - I'd never tried that before! I like how it turned out. :)

Oh by the way, sorry about the ugly cut on my finger!! I did something to it at work, can't remember what now...but I wasn't going to let it stop me from showing my pretty mani :)

The NCLA polish was great - the formula is on point, the color is stunning. The website lists it as a coral, but I definitely saw it as a red-orange that leaned more red. I can see why these polishes retail for so much - this was a great quality polish! I used two coats for these photos. 

I really loved this kit! The value of it alone was enough to convince me, but somehow this month's selections really fit in with my personal style. I haven't used the gold studs yet, but I am sure I will soon!
You can click the links below to subscribe, check out the items in the NAS shop, or follow NAS on social media to keep up to date on new boxes and nail art looks from Renowned Artists! Thanks for reading! <3

Subscribe to Nail Art Society
Nail Art Society A La Carte Shop
My Nail Art Society Renowned Artist page
Nail Art Society Facebook
Nail Art Society Instagram
Nail Art Society Twitter

These products were provided to me in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Some links are affiliate links. I am a Renowned Nail Artist for Nail Art Society, but that does not affect my review of these products. Please see my Disclosure Statement for more information.

Review: Cult Cosmetics Boho Chic Blackbox

*Press sample*

Hi guys! I have some very exciting news to share with you today! I was recently contacted by Cult Cosmetics about being a sponsored nail artist with them. I have to be totally honest, I wasn't terribly familiar with Cult at that point, but once I did some research and saw the products Cult has to offer, I had to say yes! 

First, I want to share some information about Cult Cosmetics with you, in case you're unfamiliar, like I was. Cult has the option of a subscription box, call the Blackbox. From the Cult website: 

"Introducing BLACKBOX by CULT. With BLACKBOX, every month you’ll receive the latest nail colors and looks... along with tips, tools and occasional bonuses every month. We never test on animals, we ship fast, and because we don’t spend millions a month on TV ads, we can give you a better quality product at only a fraction of the cost."

This month's Blackbox is called Summer Chic, and you can see it by clicking here. And it's only 9.99, because you get 50% off your first kit!

In addition to the Blackboxes, there are nail art kits that you can buy. These have lots of great tools as well as polish colors, and you are able to see what all is in each kit before purchasing. These kits vary in price but look to be a pretty good value in my opinion!

You also have the option of buying individual polishes and lip glosses a la carte on Cult's website.

Today, my review is of the BoHo Chic Blackbox. Here is what was included:

- Mulholland by CULT (0.5 oz, $12 value) , a rich chocolate brown

- Rose Bowl by CULT (0.5oz, $12 value) , a dusty rose leaning terra cotta

- Runyon by CULT (0.5 oz, $12 value) , a soft sage green

- Color Club® Black Striper Brush ($4 value)

When I saw these colors together, I immediately thought "hippie" haha. I wanted to do a nail art that embodied the feel of the box and used all the products, so I came up with this tribal design!

It was a very overcast day in Dayton, and I couldn't quite get my camera to cooperate with showing these polishes color accurately! So, I tried one with flash. It washed out my skin, but the colors are pretty accurate in this next one. :)

I started with a coat of Runyon on all nails except my accent, which I used Mulholland. I used two coats for full coverage. I then did a gradient using a makeup sponge, adding Rose Bowl to the tips. I used the black striper to freehand some tribal designs and topped it all off with HK Girl!

The formulas of these polishes were really great. They were all very pigmented, but I didn't experience any staining at all. Application was a breeze, no streaking, pulling, dragging - just very smooth. The striping brush was a little thicker than the Stripe Rite one I typically use, but it was still very easy to use and made making straight lines super easy. I even did the dots with the striper, my other one can't do that! :)

Cult Blackboxes retail for 19.99 per month + s/h, however as I mentioned, when you sign up initially, you will receive 50% off your first box! And even if you're not a subscription kind of person, I highly recommend checking out their polishes for sale as well as their nail art kits - you won't be disappointed! Check out Cult Cosmetics on Facebook and Instagram as well to stay up to date on new products and kits.

What do you think of this look? Have you ever tried any Cult Cosmetics product? I'd love to hear below!
<3 Kelly

These products were provided to me in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I am a Sponsored Nail Artist for Cult Cosmetics, but that does not affect my review of these products. Please see my Disclosure Statement for more information.