Colors by Llarowe: STAMPING POLISHES!!

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CbL Stamping Polish Collection

Individual photos after the jump...

The Digit-al Dozen: New and Improved - Double Stamping

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The Ditigal Dozen New and Improved

Double Stamping

Day 4! Today I'm doing something I rarely do. Stamping. I'm not very good at stamping so of course I decided to try double stamping. Go figure! However, this was the easiest stamping mani I've done so far and it really doesn't look half bad. I still can't really call myself a stamper, but these polishes and the plate I used made it so much easier.

I started with a base of KBShimmer Eclipse (purchased by me - I did a review of one previously that was sent for review.) I stamped over it first with Girly Bits Stamping Polish in Fire Engine Red using their new stamping plate. The silver splatters are using Girly Bits Stamping Polish Silver Bells (all sent for review.)

Sure you can see the mistakes, but this is honestly the best I've ever done, try as I might and I'm very happy with it! I didn't have to re-do even one nail. The only issue I had was before I got started. I tried to use the super squishy (somewhat sticky) stamping head and I could get the image picked up but I couldn't get it to transfer. I switched to the harder one and it worked fine!

Stay tuned for a full review of the plate and all of the new Girly Bits stamping polishes!


Be sure to check out the other great New and Improved manis in the links below.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Girly Bits: Holiday Magic Collection - Swatches and Review (and some nail art)

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I'm back with a new Holiday Collection from Girly Bits!

Girly Bits

Holiday Magic Collection

Holiday Magic

From Girly Bits: This collection consists of 9 classic holiday colours with Girly Bits flair. I am excited to have collaborated with Megan Edwards to bring you a stunning collection of sparkly goodness for the holiday. Megan is a spokesperson for Girly Bits as well as a model and is immersed in the fashion and entertainment scene in Vancouver, Canada. She is currently with Virgin Radio, as well as a panelist on CTV news: Fame Factor.

Catch me after the jump for swatches!

Paint Box Polish: The Knight Bus Collection - Swatches and Review

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Paint Box Polish

The Knight Bus Collection

Happy Thursday! Today I have a brand new Harry Potter inspired collection from Paint Box Polish to show you called The Knight Bus Collection.

Meet me after the jump for full swatches and review!

The Digit-al Dozen Does Winter Wonderland: Day 5 - Holiday Sweater Nail Art

Nothing to Disclose

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Hi guys! It's sadly the last day in Digit-al Dozen Week. This month, the theme was Winter Wonderland. It's no secret I miss the seasons. All of them. Yes, even including Winter. Here in South Texas, we don't get to see all 4 seasons often and Winter is almost never. So I'm sad to see this week end.

So for the last day, I have a couple examples of some not-so-great stamping. I swear I don't understand what I do wrong! And a Gift Wrap mani that didn't make the cut.

Holiday Sweater Nail Art

I started with a base of Chanel Rouge Rubis and added free-handed "cable knit" lines with white. Then I used a sheer franken I made by putting a couple of drops of red in a 3/4ths empty bottle of top coat. Followed with stamping. I used BM-318 for the snowman and BM-323 for the snowflakes. I filled in the snowman features with a small brush and dotting tool using acrylic paint.

And the one that got scrapped is another messy stamping attempt. I can't seem to get a clear image AND I smeared it.

For this one I started with a base of Kiko 335, then stamped with BM-323 and B17 (which I think is a knockoff of Konad M20) in Konad White  in layers for a "jelly stampwich" - topped off with Nfu-Oh JS27

Here's the Gift Wrap Mani that didn't quite make it. I just didn't really like it - seemed too messy.

Thanks for joining us this week for all the Winter Wonderland manis and be sure to check the links below to see creations from the other The Digit-al Dozen gals!

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An InLinkz Link-up

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The Lacquer Legion: Glam - Half Moon Mani

Nothing to Disclose

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I'm excited to be participating in the Lacquer Legion challenges, put together by Chalkboard Nails,  Rebecca Likes Nails, The Nailasaurus, and Work/Play/Polish. This month, the theme is GLAM. If you want to participate, you can like The Lacquer Legion on Facebook and hashtag your posts on all social media with #LLGlam. Each month there will be a different theme and hashtag.

Glam has a different connotation for everyone and for me, it's the 30s and 40s when movie stars truly put forth a STAR image. So I chose a simple but elegant half-moon manicure. My nails aren't long enough yet to do the classic almond shape popular back then, but you get the idea.

I used Borghese Lira (gold) and Dior Diva. I free-handed the half moon and stamped on the accent finger.

Just check out Dior Diva close up! I love it!

Be sure and type in "#LLGlam" on all social media to check out all the other Lacquer Legion manis!

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The Lacquer Legion - LUCKY: Celtic/Gaelic Manicure

Nothing to Disclose

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I'm excited to be participating in the Lacquer Legion challenges, put together by Chalkboard Nails,  Rebecca Likes Nails, The Nailasaurus, and Work/Play/Polish. This month, the theme is LUCKY. If you want to participate, you can like The Lacquer Legion on Facebook and hashtag your posts on all social media with #LLlucky. Each month there will be a different theme and hashtag.

The Gaelic word for luck or lucky is Sealbh and having Scottish and Irish heritage I've always been drawn to celtic, gaelic, basically anything Scottish or Irish and I feel very lucky to have been able to visit these places. I only hope I'm lucky enough to be able to move there someday. Retire there maybe?

As far as "luck" goes, I've always believed we make our own luck. Sure there is a right place, right time aspect to life but working hard, preparing, etc. certainly make one able to take advantage of those "lucky opportunities." But your heritage? Yeah, not a lot of control there - just lucky!

So for this manicure I used a base of Color Club Look, Don't Tusk with stamping on the index, ring and pinkie fingers in a celtic knot design with Illamasqua Smash - and a striping brush around the cuticle area with Smash. Not gonna lie - it's because I am really REALLY bad at stamping, so the "ruffian" was just to cover up the gaps. On the middle and thumb, I used a striper brush and acrylic paint for the shamrock, 4-leaf clover and words.

I've always loved the saying "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough." 

Be sure and type in "#LLlucky" on all social media to check out all the other Lacquer Legion manis!

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GOT Polish? Golden Oldie Thursday: Purple

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I have a serious problem in that I am always looking for that NEW polish fix when I have so many lovely polishes languishing in the drawer...polish I love enough to save them from purges or the donation box. And yet I don't wear them!

So when Debbie over at The Crumpet put together the GOT Polish Challenge, I was all for it! GOT stands for Golden Oldie Thursday - we pull out a polish that's a year old or older that we haven't worn either in a year or ever. This Thursday is PURPLE! I love me some purple, so I pulled out two gorgeous Zoya polishes that don't get enough nail time: Perrie and Monica. And a Nails Inc. for the butterfly: Percy Street.

I used Zoya Perrie as the base and did a quick gradient on the tips with Monica and then finished off with a butterfly stamp using Nails Inc. Percy Street.


Be sure and check out all the other great GOT Polish manicures in the links below!

If you want to  join in the fun, you can find out the details here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/purplecrumpetfairy/

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An InLinkz Link-up

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Autumn Leaves Nail Art

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I see by watching national weather that Autumn has arrived for some of you lucky people! Unfortunately, my idea of Autumn is never realized here. We have our benefits, but I sure miss Autumn...so I've made Autumn on my nails!

Continued after the jump...

Thrifty Thursday! Starring Milani Purple Martin and Raspberry Delight

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We're on the downhill slide to the weekend! Today's Thrifty Thursday post brings 2 new polishes from Milani's newest collections: Purple Martin from the Fantastical Plumage Collection and Raspberry Delight - for stamping - from the Retro Glam Collection.

Purple Martin is a dusty, slightly warm, light purple creme. No issues to report - smooth, creamy formula. Two coats for opacity and no top coat for the photos.

Milani Purple Martin

Milani Purple Martin

Stamping with Raspberry Delight (which, by the way, has the same creamy, smooth formula as Purple Martin) and one coat of Poshe top coat.

Milani Purple Martin with Raspberry Delight stamping

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One of the few remaining budget-friendly "drugstore" thrifty finds remaining...and thank goodness. I really love the creamy smooth formula of Milani cremes.

Milani polishes are available at retailers and e-tailers throughout the US and retail for around $4.49. You can also buy directly from milanicosmetics.com for $4.49.

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NOTD, OOTD and Trying Something New

So...I have never "blogged" from my phone before. We will see how this goes but if past experience is any indicator, it will be a hot mess so I will ask your forgiveness now. LOL! 

Just a quick one though. My nail of the day with my outfit for inspiration. 

Nothing special. Just my "feeling bloated and I think this blouse will hide it" clothes. White jeans and a black and white blouse. Left my curls down...

And did  a quick stamping mani...

The photos are all with my iPhone too. Sorry. 

So my day consisted of finally getting my air strut installed on the car, injuring my swatching hand, getting too hot and blogging 100% from my phone.  Oh! And basically accosting a guy at the car wash!     He backed up after his wash was over and triggered the wash I had just paid for -  basically stealing mine!  So I had him blocked from the rear with my car and got out and walked around to the front and confronted him when he pulled out. Made him give me my $10! 

Definitely a Monday!  How did your week start?

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Random Monday Nail Art - A franken, framed nails and stamping!

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Dropping in for a quick post with some "nail art" - a blue and violet framed stamping manicure! I'm busy cropping photos to show you more pretties but in the mean time, rather than changing my mani, I decided to just extend it by adding.

I used my violet scattered holo franken (that I was already wearing) as a base and with a striping brush I framed in the middle and pinkie nails with Ninja Polish Sapphire Dreams and then I used my DRK-A stamping plate and stamped some little flowers on the thumb, middle and pinkie nails. So easy I hesitate to call it nail art!

And The Gemstone Collection polishes from Ninja Polish are great for stamping, by the way!

What do you think? I actually quite like this, which I can't always say about my nail art attempts!

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Nail of the Day - Purple-Mania

Personal Collection

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A quick NOTD post for you...I just felt like purple.

NOTD: Purple with stamping/nail art

AquaDaisy Shazaam with Elevation Sample Grape Jelly #MY11 accent and stamping using the FANTASTIC squishy stamper from Ninja Polish and BM 314.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Copy-Caturday! With a Jelly Stamping Sandwich...or Two

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Tonight I have my Copy-Caturday post for you - better late than never! This time, I'm copying 4Boys 1Mom Lacquer's gorgeous mani. Check her out and give her a follow on Twitter and a like on Facebook - her swatches are gorgeous.

4Boys 1Mom Lacquer

I didn't have that stamping plate of course, so I used BM318...

The Nail Junkie Blueberry Neon Shimmer Jelly

I actually DID take photos after clean-up, I just can't find them! UGH!

And later this week I did another one using The Nail Junkie Strawberry Neon Shimmer Jelly...

The Nail Junkie Strawberry Neon Shimmer Jelly

I love these for a couple of reasons. 1) It gets me over my fear of "jelly sandwiches" 2) I can do a jelly sandwich without glitter and 3) It hides the imperfections in my stamping! So...BIG shout out to Jennifer of 4Boys 1Mom! What a fantastic idea!

The Nail Junkie polishes are available at The Nail Junkie Etsy Store here.  Also, you definitely need to follow The Nail Junkie blog and Facebook page for updates and announcements. 

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Copy-Caturday! Houndstooth Stamping - copied from WorkPlayPolish - Sort of...

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Nails Inc. Black Taxi and The Thames

Okay, so...I tried to copy-cat a mani I saw over at WorkPlayPolish. Hers was GORGEOUS. My attempt was a fail (which I'll show you like I promised) the first time around. My houndstooth image was larger than hers and I'm not good at stamping.

Here's a teaser photo of her lovely mani - head on over and show her some love and see the rest of the photos and the post here.

THIS is what is SHOULD look like.

Then I got the the ultimate stamper. Which one is the ultimate stamper you ask? This one.

XL Stamper - available here

Now I can no longer blame my stamping on my little stamper that came in the $10 drugstore kit. And there's still blame to be had because I haven't mastered stamping yet, which will be obvious, but the fault lies squarely on my shoulders now and not the stamper. But I'm a big girl. I can handle it. And hopefully I'll get better with practice.


So here's what I ended up doing: Nails Inc. The Thames as a base and Nails Inc. Black Taxi for the stamping. Image from Bundle Monster 322 plate.

Houndstooth Stamping - Nail Art

Houndstooth Stamping - Nail Art

I've ordered the large DRK-A plate with the smaller houndstooth image more like what WorkPlayPolish used. So I will be trying again because I LOVE houndstooth.

And as promised...with the larger houndstooth image and the bad stamper.

What NOT to do. LOL!

So there you have it - another installment of my adventures in stamping! It's gotta get better!

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Happy St. Patrick's Day 2013!

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Just a quick drive-by post to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Edit: That should say Glow Lockets by Monique Lula!

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Copy-Caturday - Gradient with Stamping

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As I told you, one of my goals this year is to try more nail art. I'm not really good at it but I'm hoping practice makes perfect.

So...I decided to try Copy-Caturdays! I will attempt to copy-cat a nail design that I love on Saturdays, or on Copy-Caturday, I should say.

Tonight I have my interpretation of a FANTASTIC manicure I saw from Jacki at Adventures in Acetone. She did a great gradient with stamping in her review of some stamping plates and while I don't have the polishes she used or the stamping plate image, I decided to try my interpretation of it using what I have.

So I started out with OPI You Don't Know Jacques (this is one I had from before going cruelty-free) and did a sponge gradient with that and Pure Ice All Night Long. I used butter LONDON's matte top coat over it - the BEST matte top coat out there, in my opinion.

Blue and Taupe Gradient

And then I picked out an image from one of my new Bundle Monster stamping plates (BM-312) and stamped over the gradient using Milani Flashy Silver.

Blue Taupe Gradient with Stamping

Blue Taupe Gradient with Stamping

So what do you think? Just remember, I'm still learning and practicing so be kind! But I will show you the failures along with the successes, so it could get quite funny!

And don't forget to visit Jacki's post at Adventures in Acetone to see where I got my inspiration.

Here's a teaser photo for you...

Of course hers is To Die For Gorgeous but to misquote a line from As Good As It Gets: "Jacki, you make me want to do a better mani."

Thanks for looking! Have a GREAT weekend!



XOXO
Sheila ♥



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30 Day Challenge Day Fifteen - DELICATE PRINT

And THIS, Folks, is why I don't stamp. It's just too hard! I picked a really easy one and still couldn't manage it! I used Pure Ice Jack Pot as my base and stamped with Pure Ice White On the Spot.

Delicate Print Mani with Pure Ice Jack Pot

I did quite like Jack Pot, though. It's been sitting in my untrieds for over a year, so I really am enjoying the challenges. Even the ones that are fails!

If you'd like to join the 30 Day Challenge using your untried polishes, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! Thanks to Polished Criminails for starting this one!

Untrieds used:

Pure Ice Jack Pot

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