Fourth of July / Grateful Dead Mani

This is what I wore for the 4th. 

I used nailside.blogspot.com's tutorial for the double lightning bolt mani. She's amazing for sharing her secrets!  =0)


I used wnw white, Cosmetic Arts (also known as color club) 220 volts, and wnw red.

All you Grateful Dead fans out there who love polish as much as I do, stand up! lol

I know you're out there!

How much does this mani rock!?!  I have been planning it in my head for what feels like FOREVER!  ;)

And finally with nailside's tutorial was totally able to make it happen.  Thanks again girl! XD

waddya think?

ps- have you checked out the blogsale update yet?  ;)
kitties gotta eat!

Lisa Frank Inspired Mani + Blogsale Update

Hi girls!  I'm still working on those Lynnderella franken swatches.  I've swatched most of them- I even took video of them for you!  LOL  But my computer is ancient and uploading them is going to be MAJOR, I'm sure. SOO not looking forward to it.

I'll try to bite my lip and get them up in the next week or so though.

But for today I have for you an awesome lisa frank inspired mani!  I've seen these around mua and the web and of course had to try it out for myself!  It was SO EASY and the results were AWESOME!  If I do say so myself... ;)

Bundle Monster Mani #1! I'm Seeing Stars...

Yeah. I did it.  I finally ordered the Bundle Monster plates.  And right at Christmas time at that.  I had them on my Amazon.com wishlist for a while, but I heard some chatter on MUA about them maybe not being available (question mark? still not sure what that was about...) so I jumped on it.  Mr. L said it could be my Christmas present.  Yay!

It said on the Amazon tracking system that they were coming from Hawaii!  Which I didn't know.  But even though it projected the package to arrive in 11 days, it only took 5. Woohoo!  I was so excited to see that little white envelope!  XD

I of course had to immediately rip it open and play!

The first design to really jump out at me (and one I have been waiting to get my hands on) is the all over solid star pattern from plate BM20.  It's really cute!  I'm surprised I haven't seen more pix of girls using it.

Cosmetic Arts polish in "Silver Belle," stamped with Konad Special Black w/ BM20 plate

Silver Belle is pretty! I was going for a sparkly/rainbow/shining star thing.

It didn't come out totally 100% perfect, but I need to practice with the BM full nail plates since they are so much smaller than the Konad images. My left hand looks better than my right, though, because as luck would have it, my left hand nails are the exact right length for the BM full nail images. My right hand nails are a tad longer so the star image ends before my tips.  Doesn't look that great.

I'm very happy with the Bundle Monster plates, though.  A couple of them had scratches on them, but not over any of the images.  They all seem to stamp well once you get the right polish or pressure or method down.  So, yeah.  They're a little more finicky than the Konad plates, but the price difference makes it totally worth it.  I'd have spent close to $150 on Konad plates instead of the less than $20 for the BM set.

True, you don't get to choose the exact plates you will get, but they are always the same set.  So at least you know what you're getting and can see them before hand.  I always research my purchases like crazy before buying so I knew what all the images were.  Most of the plates have images I will use and a few of the plates I LOVE!  So, it's definitely a win for me! 

Hope everyone is hanging in there!  Xmas is coming fast. . . but make sure you guys KEEP YOUR HEADS!   Remember what it's all about and enjoy the time you get to spend with your loved ones.  I know I treasure every second I get with mine!  (you know who you are!)  =0)

Cosmetic Arts Silver Belles is holographic! (With Comparisons)

OK. Someone on MUA said they found a new brand of polish at their Fred Meyer.  Which happened to be a location very close to my house.  While I didn't trek out to the one she was referring to, I did happen to stop by my Fred Meyer for milk and butter (you know, the essentials!) and wandered over to the polish setction.

I have to say, the Fred Meyer closest to my house is AWESOME about Limited Edition polish.  They always get things in before anyone else, and this was no exception.  I found the Cosmetic Arts Nail Polish display along with the LE (although I hear they may become part of the core line) Milani Gems Polishes.  And of course, there were the LA Girls Rockstar as well as their Metallic Polishes.  On the other side were the Holiday Milani Polishes I blogged about already (gold and silver holos).  Not to mention the pink breast cancer awareness OPI polish display.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: Fred Meyer, I love you!  You are on the front lines of my polish obsession.  And for that, I thank you.  ;0)

OK.  I'm done gushing now.  Onto the goods!

One of the colors that stood out to me the most was the "Silver Belle" color.  It did indeed look like just another silver foil/sparkle/shimmer/metallic, etc.  However, when I took a whif of the actual polish, I could tell it was holographic!  Does that make me crazy?  That I can sniff out a holo polish with my nose?  You all know what I'm talking about, don't you?  OMG smells like it, and GOSH smells like it.  There's a certain, I-don't-know-what that silver holographic polishes have. Anyway, I brought it home and I was right!

It's not like OMG.  It's not like GOSH. It's probably more like the Kaleidoscope line by China Glaze, although I don't have any of those, yet.  It's a more of a scattered holo and not the linear type.  You'll see what I mean.

Looks like silver here, but it's a scattered rainbow in bright light!

Here's the comparison shot. L-R: SB, Gosh Holographic, SB, China Glaze OMG

Cosmetic Arts Silver Belle

Overall, this polish is awesome!  It's so pretty, it dries SUPER FAST like all of these types of holographics do, and it is sooooo much easier to remove than a glitter polish since it's smooth.

The formula on this one was great. It went on like buttah and I didn't have any problems with dragging or bald spots.  I'm pretty sure this would ROCK for making frankens! ;0)

The ONLY small complaint I can think of is that the brush on the one I got is kinda wonky.  It wants to have fly-aways, but if I tell it who's boss, it will cooperate OK.

Hope you guys are able to find these! There were other colors that I KNOW are going to be exciting for you girls!  I have one more to show you (for now) from this line so STAY TUNED!  XD