Nailnation 3000 Swatches and Review: Part 1

Hello dear readers!

I'm very excited to show you my first review for Nailnation 3000 polishes. This time, I will be showing you 4 holographic finish nail polishes: Cafe Au Lait, Dance Like No Ones Around, Enigmatic & Holo, and It's a Holo State of Mind.

Now on to the swatches and review...

First off, here's Cafe Au Lait, it is a very dark brown, almost black with holographic finish.

 It looks very black in the picture, but it definitely has a brown tint to it.

I applied 2 coats for opacity. The holo effect on this one is subtle but I think it goes perfect with this color.

 This polish applied smoothly. The formula has the perfect balance of pigmentation and thickness for an easy application. I think on this shot, you can see the brown color a little bit.

Now we have Dance Like No Ones Around. It is a holographic fuchsia color.

 This polish has a strong holographic effect, and together with the brightness of the fuchsia...amazing.

I applied 2 coats but 1 generous coat is enough for opacity. This one also applied smoothly without any problems.

Just like the name says, Enigmatic & Holo has a mysterious flair to it...this color is difficult to describe, so I'll leave it to how its creator defined it as "... a mauvy lilac hue with an almost brown tint. She pops pearly HOLO goodness with crazy aqua green sparks that burst in your face in direct light and trick your eye in in direct light. "

  This color is like nothing I have ever seen in a holographic before, depending on the light you are, the color changes you'll see. It can be brown, lilac, greenish, even pinkish..kept me guessing and I loved it! The semi-linear holographic effect added even more to the beauty of this color.

 2 coats are necessary for opacity on this one and applied like a breeze.

Last but not least, we have It's a Holo State of Mind which I would describe as a champagne holographic color.

 Out of the four colors I showed today, This one has the strongest holographic shine, probably because there's a very slight metallic quality to it.

 For this color, 3 coats are needed for full coverage. I used 2 coats and there was a slight nail line showing, but it was my preference. This one can work for both, as a holo nail polish or topper to add this effect to any color.

These are my Nailnation 3000 swatches so far...more to come soon ;) 

In general, I really liked these colors, I think Maria from Nailnation 3000 loves to play wizard with the holographic polishes she created and has done a nice job with the array of colors and finishes she has to offer.

Also, did I say her nail polishes are 5 free?

5 free means its formula is free of this harmful chemicals: Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor...so, the less chemicals on your nail polish, the better for your health ;)

***If you would like to purchase Nailnation 3000 polishes, you can visit her online store:

http://nailnation3000.storenvy.com/

Polishes were provided for my honest review.

Which color out of these 4 did you like the most?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Nail Art for Día de muertos - Day of the Dead

Hello dear readers!

This is the 3rd year that I get to do a manicure based on Día de muertos.

If you don't know what this Mexican festivity is about, you can read my two previous posts (here and here).

What I usually do is remember my loved ones who have passed away. Well, they are always in my heart and mind, but for Mexicans, November 1st and 2nd is a special day. We dedicate this day to go to the cemetery and visit our relatives tombs, put flowers and their favorite food. We stay a while there, and talk with our family while we remember special moments of those who have gone before us. This is what I mostly remember of día de muertos in Mexico. What I just described is another way of celebrating this day besides the traditional altar de muertos.

As for this nail art, it always takes me hours to put it together. From planing the layout of all the día de muertos elements into nail art, to painting the base color, choosing all the colors that will be used, stamping, etc... 4-5 hours at least. I just like to put a lot of thought and heart into it, as if it was my own altar.

 Here you can see many elements surrounding this tradition. Two skeletons in such "alive expressions" that symbolizes death as part of life itself and a reflection of ourselves. Cómo me ves te verás (The way you see me now, you will look like). The two nails in the middle represent my memories of going to the cemetery to leave my grandfather food and lighting a candle so it would guide his spirit to us. In our minds, he would know we were lighting that candle for him, he would see us and enjoy his food as well. *As a curious note, all people who make food offerings say that after this day, altar food loses its flavor, meaning that it was somehow consumed by our loved one.

Whether these beliefs are truth or not, for me, it is a beautiful, magical tradition that I grew up with.

The thumb design is just a representation of papel picado (cut out paper) that adorns altars and many other Mexican celebrations.

I hope you liked this nail art and learned a bit more about this Mexican holiday.

Día de muertos is more than painting your face as a sugar skull. I hope this day never loses its true meaning which is: honoring and remembering our lost loved ones...gone but never forgotten♥

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

2x1 Halloween nail art

Hello dear readers!

Here are my last Halloween manicures of this year.

It was hard to decide on just one nail art, so I did one on each hand.

More pics and details below...

 First, on my left hand, I stamped a ghost and skulls designs from my HD-H plate.

I used mundo the uñas white for stamping.

On my thumb, I stamped a spiderweb from that same plate.

 

On my right hand, it was a classic orange/black color combo. I stamped a pattern from my HD-G plate. It has little cats, bats and crosses.

Here you can see on more detail.

This nail art wasn't as elaborated or planned as I usually like, but I still liked the end result.

So, if you celebrate Halloween, I wish you have a fun and safe night!

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Ghosts Pumpkins and Bats for Halloween

Hello dear readers!

One more Halloween manicure...

More details and pics below.

For this nail art, I started by applying Barielle - Berry Posh. This nail polish is part of the Me Couture collection.

I painted the tip of my thumb and middle finger with Bonita - Cocktails and Carving.Then, I stamped Ghosts, bats, pumpkins and vines from HD-C and HD-D plates.

This post was very quick, I'm trying to post a couple more manicures by this Halloween. 

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Halloween Holographic Spiderwebs

Hello dear readers!

Here's my 2nd Halloween-inspired nail art.

This time, it's all about the spiders...

I started by wearing 2 coats of Barielle Taupe Notch, part of their Me Couture collection

Then, I stamped spiderweb and spider designs from Bunny Nails HD-C plate.

I used Color Club Harp on It for the holographic effect and Nabi metallic black for the spiders.

Cute little spiders crawling on my nails...just for Halloween

I hope this served you for some inspiration to make your own manicure this Halloween that's just around the corner ;)

Skeleton Nail Art - Tutorial

Hello dear readers!

I've been busy with everything regarding the stamping plates that I released recently. If you follow me through FB or Instagram, you know by now. If not, then you can take a look at the plates here or purchase directly through my store.

Now, let's get into Halloween mood, shall we?...

This nail art is very easy to do and no stamping is needed. All you need is nail polish and a dotting tool. (Pictorial below)

For this nail art, I started by applying Moda Bleu by Barielle, part their Me Couture collection .

Now, here's the fun part...

You start by painting  1 or 2 white lines along your nails. If your nails are long, then 2 lines is more appropriate. Then, proceed to put two dots, side to side on each end of the line. Repeat this on all your nails.

As you can see, this nail art had a shiny finish, but I thought a matte finish would look better.

I applied a matte finish top-coat as the finishing touch. 

Better, right?

Extra pic...

I hope you like this nail art. I think it is very easy to do and would go perfectly if you wear an skeleton-type of Halloween costume...Grim reaper, for example, or to compliment your sugar-skull look on Día de muertos. If you don't have long nails and you would still like to wear nails that way on Halloween, you could paint a set of false nails ;)

Cute Forest Animals Nail Art + Review - Born Pretty Store Water Decals

Hello dear readers!

Today I'm posting a manicure I had on a few weeks ago...

This is my second time trying water decals for Born Pretty Store and this is the result. I will add more details on what I did for this manicure, so keep reading ;)

I started with 2 coats of OPI Glints of Glinda as my base.

To add some dimension to the nail art, I stamped random dots pattern using various pastel colors from the Sally Hansen Insta-dri line. They work beautifully for stamping ;)

Now starts the fun part, using the decals.

You can find these decals at Born Pretty Store through this link.

*Don't forget to use my 10% off coupon code: FDB10

I cut all the designs that I found cute for my manicure...

Put the cut out design on tap water for 15 secs.

Take it out, blot some of the water and slide the decal, proceed to put it on your nail.

I find that putting the decals on top of a nail polish base that's slightly fresh, yet dry to the touch, makes it easier to apply. Apply all the designs and arrange them to your liking. After that, use clear topcoat to protect your nail art.

I really liked these decals as they have lots of designs for long nails like mine. Or if you have short nails, then you'll have lots of decals that will last for many manicures ;) They are fun and easy to use.

*This product was sent for me for review purposes.

What do you think of this nail art? 

I think the designs look like cute animals out of a children's book.

OPI - The Sky's my Limit

Hello dear readers!

I'm back with swatches of OPI - The Sky's the Limit. This nail polish is part of OPI's collaboration with Ford Mustang which celebrates its 50th anniversary.
(I wont comment more on that because I am pretty much clueless about cars, etc...I wish I was, but I'm not -_-).

This is the only shade that I picked from this collection because honestly, it was the only one that caught my attention. It is sparkly and the color finish is very interesting...I'll elaborate more on that below...

The Sky's my Limit is a shimmery blue with metallic finish. It also has a fine gold and green shimmer that shows at certain light but not easy to capture in photograph.

Now, here's the gold/green shimmer I was talking about.

It gives this nail polish such a summer, beach-y flair to it...

...and this is why I stamped some scales to it, reminds me of a mermaid's tail.

Did you  like OPI Mustang collection? Which one did you choose/ would have picked?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥