Galaxy Nails!

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

The universe is a beautiful thing; I, for one, believe that it is one piece of art! Today this nail art look is inspired by the galaxies!

Source

I used Essie Aruba Blue as my base color. Then I took Above the Curve Risen Angel, Too Cute-icle Beach Blanket, Cutoffs and Bikini, and Orly Oh Cabana Boy and painted them on lightly in different locations on the nail. I used China Glaze Fairy Dust to blend the colors together. To finish up the look I used FingerPaints Santa's Magic in different locations.

This look is very easy to recreate and is the perfect place to start if you're just getting into nail art or if you are a seasoned pro! :)

New Year Nail Art with kkcenterhk

 * The following nail art brushes and studs were sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please visit my disclosure policy.*

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

I hope y'all had a great Christmas! Now that Christmas is over, we can focus on the new year! New year =  new nail art!

Today I have two different nail art looks, made with products from kkcenterhk! 

The first nail art look is very simple, yet edgy and perfect for the new year!

I used N.NAIL Studs Square Matte Silver 5mm Nail Art Decorations [NNAIL-DRN648] from kkcenterhk. They retail for $4.75USD and each package has approximately fifty pieces. 

 I liked these studs and I will definitely use them again.

 My base color was Rimmel London Black Satin.

For my second nail art look I chose to do a freehand skittle with the N.NAIL 15 Pieces Pink Handle Nail Art Nail Art Brush [JR1131] from kkcenterhk. I absolutely love this look, and plan to wear it to ring in the new year!

  I love these nail art brushes! This is the first set that I have ever owned and I plan to use them forever! They retail for $13.50USD, which is a decent price for fifteen synthetic fiber nail art brushes!

This is the package they came in. It houses them in a nice, compact way, so that is how I will keep them stored. They also have a plastic safeguard to keep the bristles in shape (all brushes but the fan brushes have these). They also seemed very durable.
I named these brushes for tutorial purposes. kkcenterhk did not label or name each individual brush.

 Brushes 1-6 are liner and detailing brushes.

Brushes 7-8 are fan brushes and 9 is a dotting tool.

Brushes 10-15 are stroke brushes.

 I used three polishes for this look- Wet n Wild French White Creme, Rimmel London Black Satin, and an unlabeled Pure Ice silver.

Index- I used brushes 3 and 9.

Middle- I used brush 5.

Ring- I used brushes 9 and 14.

Pinkie- I used brush 8.

You can shop at kkcenterhk, here.

Make sure to use the coupon code SouthernSparkle for 10% off your entire order until January 31, 2015!

Snowflakes

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

Today I have a super cute snowflake mani to show you! 

I'm not completely sure where I first saw this mani, as I've seen it quite a few times by different bloggers. If you know who came up with this idea, please let me know and I will happily credit them. :)
[Edited on 12.29.13 to add that thanks to one of my readers, the source has been found! I first saw this look from Fox Claws.]

I started off with two coats of Rimmel London Black Satin. Then I applied one coat of JessieGeeWhiz Tidepool. I used Winstonia plate W120 and an unlabeled Pure Ice silver for the snowflakes. I topped it off with Essie Matte About You and some colorful rhinestones.

Let me know what you think in the comments! <3

Twinsie Thursday: Christmas Skittles

It is Twinsie Thursday once again! Check out these cute skittles Lothwen did. So cute! 

Hello lovelies!

Today we have the last Twinsie Thursday of the year! And what better theme than a Christmas Skittle :D I saw Samantha's skittle even before I had started mine, and I swear, her Santa is so jolly good! I didn't even try after I saw that ;) I love her mani :)

OK so this is what I came up with:

For The Snowman, I used a base of W7 White, dotted messy dots (I mean, charcoal isn't perfectly round, right?) with a dotting tool and Paris Memories 236. I mixed some yellow and red to get the orange (I had misplaced mine) and painted the carrot with a dotting tool. It turned into a lumpy one, lol.
On my middle finger I painted Rudolph (I thought Rudolph - middle finger... YES). I used an unnamed brown polish from HEMA for the base. The eyes I dotted with the same white and black as before. The nose I dotted first with an unnamed red from Japan and then with W7 Red Dazzle. The antlers I applied with my dotting tool and Essence Hazelnut Cream Pie. 

Santa's Suit on the ring finger has a red base of a Japanese polish. I applied the white with the brush from the bottle, as well as the black. Then I added the stud (from Made By Me) for the belt buckle.
The Christmas Tree is on a black base, freehanded with Green Dazzle. The ornaments are dotted on with Maybelline Brocades "Rosy Rosettes" and "Foil Flash". I could only find a little lilac star stud, so I used that to top it off. I sealed in everything with Seche Vite  :) 

I wish you all super lovely holidays! We will continue our Twinsie Thursday Tradition in 2014!

Now head over to my blog to see Samanta's skittle (and esp. her Santa). Go!

Zoya Naturel: Spring 2014

 * The following polishes were sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please visit my disclosure policy.*

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

Today I have Zoya's Spring 2014 Collection, Naturel.

I LOVE this collection and I hope that you will too!

All photos were taken in artificial natural light.

Each photo shows two coats of polish without topcoat.

Zoya Chantal

Zoya says that "Chantal can be best described as a delicious full-coverage, French Vanilla cream".

 It was opaque and had a great formula!

Zoya Taylor

 Zoya says that "Taylor can be best described as full-coverage, light toffee cream".

Taylor's formula was awesome!

Taylor and Chantal are very similar. Do you need both? Of course! ;)

Zoya Rue

Zoya says that "Rue can be best described as full-coverage, boudoir blush cream".

I love this polish aswell (This entire collection has stolen my heart)!

It has a great formula and dry time, as to be expected from Zoya.

 

Zoya Brigitte

  Zoya says that "Brigitte can be best described as full-coverage, bombshell mauve cream".

Brigette has an awesome formula and super fast dry time!

Rue and Brigitte are similar, but Brigitte is a little bit darker. 

 

Zoya Odette

Zoya says that "Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream".

Like all of the other polishes, Odette has a great formula and dry time!

  

Zoya Normani

 Zoya says that "Normani can be best described as full-coverage, sable mauve cream".

Normani has a good formula.

 

Overall, I absolutely love this collection! Anything rose toned or neutral steals my heart and this collection has done just that! I mean, look how shiny they are. Did I say how much I loved them yet? Haha

 

What do you think about Zoya's latest collection? Let me know below. 

 

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo

 

 

 

Cherry Blossoms

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

Today I have another mani inspired by a beautiful piece of art!

Source

 

Base Color: Wet N Wild Teal Slowly and Sea

Flower Colors: OPI Did It On Em, Zoya Charisma, Color Club unnamed yellow and hot pink, and OPI Can't Let Go

Branch Color: Milani Nail Art Striper in Black Sketch

 This look was very easy to create! I started off with a base color, drew on the branches (with a light hand) and used the polish brushes to dab on the blossoms.

That is all for today! :)

Influenster Violet VoxBox

 * The following items were sent to me by Influenster for my honest review. For more information, please visit my disclosure policy.*

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

I was lucky enough to receive the Violet VoxBox from Influenster! 

Sally Hansen Triple Shine Nail Polish in Red Snapper - $4.99USD

I love the name! The formula was great! It was creamy and was opaque in two coats. I was surprised, as I've heard some not so good things about the formula. 

Goody Athlétique Headband - $6.00USD

I got this headband in gray. I was surprised by how well it stayed on my head. I will be using this product again the future!

 Soy Joy Dark Chocolate Cherry - $0.99USD
I'm not a fan of this product because it tasted like a stale brownie. I will not be purchasing this item in the future.

Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Mask: Dead Sea Mud Spa - $2.49USD
I love this product! It felt great, smelled amazing, and made my face feel refreshed and soft. I've seen these at Walmart, so next time I'm there I'll have to pick some more of these masks up!

Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo - $5.99USD
Honestly, this product did nothing for me. I would rather just wash my hair. Some ladies swear by dry shampoo, but it just isn't for me. This makes me sad, as I was hoping that I would love this product. 

That's it for today!
My favorite product from this box was the polish. Expect a nail art look featuring it soon!

Anne Kathleen Ti & Mocha

 * The following polishes were sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please visit my disclosure policy.*

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

Today I have two polishes from Anne Kathleen, Ti and Mocha!

All photos were taken in artificial daylight.

First up, my favorite, Mocha!

 As described by Leanne, "Mocha is a sultry temptress in strappy black floor-length dresses. She frequents jazz bars, humming to the piano in the back of the room. Mocha is a full coverage dark brown slightly holographic polish with light green reflects".

 Pictured is one coat with top coat.

The formula was great, as was the dry time. 

Of course I had to include a macro!

Overall, I really liked Mocha!

Next up is Ti!

As described by Leanne, "Crumpets and tarts are Ti’s favorite pastime. Each sugar-filled treat brings an extra bit of joy to her day. Her namesake polish is a scrumptious green that brightens up the hands. Ti is a full coverage green polish with a tiny bit of shimmer".

 Pictured is two coats with top coat. 

Although the dry time was okay, the formula wasn't great. The formula seemed bumpy and gritty. I thought my top coat would smooth it out, but it didn't. You can see what I'm talking about in the photo below.

In the end, I liked this polish. It would be a good base for nail art. Honestly, I will not be using this polish again, as it contains chromium oxide green. In the great State of California it is known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm. Please use this polish at your own discretion.

These two polishes went great together, so I did some basic nail art. 

Anne Kathleen polishes retail for $10.00USD, are 5-Free, cruelty free, and some of them are vegan friendly (Ti and Mocha are vegan friendly).

 You can find Anne Kathleen in many places! Stop by and show Leanne some love. :)

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That is it for today! 

I'll be back Thursday with a review of my Influenster VoxBox!