NOTD: Hidden Skulls

Hello Everyone!

It's finally October, my favorite month of the whole year. I love everything about Autumn, from the cool crisp air, getting to wear cozy sweaters and boots, the smell of the grapes ripening on the vines. I especially love all the changing leaves, and Halloween.

This Halloween season NYC ( New York Color) released a UV glowing topcoat called Demon Glow. Admittedly, I purchased my bottle for the name alone. When I got it home I did a bit of research and discovered it was a glowing topcoat. I have another UV glowing topcoat, and I've tried glow in the dark polishes and I admit I've always been a little disappointed.

Upon learning Demon Glow was a UV glowing topcoat I asked my husband if he'd dig out our black light so I could test it. I did not expect the awesomeness I was about to experience.

Using my Chez Delaney XL K stamping plate and Demon Glow I stamped a skull design over Avon Black As Night.

Natural Light

Black Light

How freaking awesome is that?! The great thing about this is you can stamp over any color of polish as long as it's not a neon, or white the UV topcoat image will show up as well as it does here over black. I could totally see this being handy for someone that wants to go out and party Halloween night, but works in a conservative office and doesn't have time to redo her manicure.

I must say I am extremely impressed by the way Demon Glow well, glows. 

China Glaze Glitter Crackle Swatches

Hello Everyone!

Today's post has proved to me that you can't always judge a polish on first impressions. Yesterday I decided to go hunting for new collections. I was quite surprised to find the China Glaze Glitter Crackle collection. I didn't expect it to be out so soon. Of course I had to grab all of them.

Right To Left:

Jade-d: a yellow green, possibly chartreuse, glitter

Glam-More: a rich fuchsia glitter

Luminous Lilac: a delicate lilac glitter

Gleam Me Up: light to medium blue glitter



When I first got these I immediately added them to my current mani. I was disappointed that they weren't opaque and only Glam-More cracked significantly for me. I decided not to give up and to swatch them over a fresh mani that's not completely dry but still tacky. Here they are over China Glaze White on White

As you can see they cracked much better for me using this method. I liked these results so much that I decided to swatch them over China Glaze Liquid Leather.

I figured this will give you a good idea of how they'll look over both dark and light colors. My favorite from this collection is Glam-More. Glam-More seems to be more opaque to me, but I think it's just because the color is so much bolder than the other three. I especially like how amazing Glam-More looks over black. I will be wearing that combination as a mani very very soon.

I picked these lovelies up at my local Sally's Beauty Supply. The display was quite picked over. If you're interested in these I suggest looking for them soon. They seem to be going quick.



What do you think of crackle polishes? Are you over them? Still in love with them?

NOTD: NYX Girls Frizz Spots & Super Funk

Hello Everyone!

The NOTD I have for you today is NYX Girls Frizz Spots. Frizz Spots is a sheer black jelly base jam packed with small and large silver hex glitter. Super Funk is a clear base with small and large purple hex glitter. I have such a weak spot for Frizz Spots. I'm sure it would look great over black but since this was the first time I've worn it I chose to wear it as it is intended to be. I had no application issues, and no removal issues when using the foil method. Pictures shown are three coats Frizz Spots topped with one coat Super Funk.

NOTD- Black & Gold Pittsburgh Penguins Inspired

Hello everyone!

About a week ago (January 6th) my husband and I went to a Pittsburgh Penguins game. I'm a huge hockey fan, in fact it's the only sport I can pay attention to. Every time we go to a sporting event I always paint my nails to coordinate with the team colors. I will usually also to an eye look using the team colors (I'm a dork, I don't care). This was my very first Penguins game and my first NHL game so I was very excited to go and see my favorite team take the ice. The fact that I also got to see my favorite player play (wooo Fleury) was just a bonus.

Since I was so excited to go to the game I had so many NOTD ideas going through my head and i just could not decide..... so i did them all.

Thumb- China Glaze Liquid Leather (2 coats) stamped with Bundlemonster plate #BM-209 using China Glaze GR8


Index- China Glaze Liquid Leather (2 coats) Topped with OPI Gold Shatter (which did not shatter at all for me) topped with Wet n' Wild Tangled In My Web (1coat)


Middle- China Glaze Liquid Leather (2 coats) topped with China Glaze Golden Enchantment (2 coats)


Ring- China Glaze GR8 (2 coats) stamped with Bundlemonster plate # BM-223 using Wet n' Wild Black Creme


Pinky- China Glaze 5 Golden Rings (3 coats) topped with China Glaze Black Mesh

I know it's a little much but I. Love. It !!!

NOTD: Butterfly Nails

Hello Everyone!

Here is a look I did Halloween weekend. Butterfly wing mani! I used Essie Scarlet O'Hara as my base. I then used an Art Deco nail art polish (with the skinny brush) for the black wing details. I made the white dots but using Wet n' Wild French Creme White and a dotting tool. I let everything dry for a moment and topped it all with a coat of Seche Vite,

NOTD: Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish Trafalgar Square

Hello everyone!

Nails Inc recently came out with magnetic polishes. Can I just tell you how absolutely floored i was to see these? Ive been dying to get my hot little hands on some magnetic polishes since I heard Essence was supposed to release a magnetic line in the US back in May. Those polishes were released elsewhere in the world but never in the US.

Trafalgar Square is a charcoal grey polish in the bottle but once you apply it and use the magnet it turns into a very dark grey if not black base and silver design. This is by far the coolest polish I've used. Watching the magnet work was really cool too. There is a little bit of a learning curve with these magnetic polishes.

Some things I learned are:

• Don't use too thick of a coat- the magnet can actually pull the polish off your nail
• I used a base color to use less product since these polishes are a little expensive
• The longer you leave the magnet over the polish the more pronounced the design is
• If you do not use a base color and you hold the magnet over the polish too long you will have thin/ sheer spots

The picture below is one coat of Trafalgar Square over one coat of Sinful Colors Black On Black (Please excuse my lack of clean up)

The Nails Inc. polish was purchased on Sephora's website. The magnetic polishes retail for $16 but to me they're totally worth it. Don't forget Sephora's Friends & Family sale is going on right now. Go to Sephora's Friends & Family sale page here and enter your email address for a code that gives you20% off your ENTIRE order. Don't worry about writing the code down, they'll email it to you also. If you use the 20% code you can pick up a Nails Inc. magnetic polish for $12.80 (plus shipping).

NOTD: China Glaze Fortune Teller

Hello Everyone!

Today's NOTD is China Glaze Fortune Teller. I originally missed out on this beauty because it was released back in 2009 right before my polish addiction started and before I learned my lesson about limited edition products. I was lucky enough to get my hands on it. The picture shown is one coat of China Glaze Liquid Leather ( my go to black) and one coat of Fortune Teller. I used Liquid Leather as a base because I want to get the most out of my bottle of Fortune Teller. Fortune Teller would be opaque in two coats but with HTF polishes I prefer to layer them over a base color. I added China Glaze Matte Magic top coat and to me it looks like lava.

NOTD: Tangled In My Web Gradient

Hello everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Today's NOTD is a glitter gradient using Wet n' Wild French White Creme and the new (nearly impossible to find)Wet n' Wild Tangled In My Web from the On The Prowl Collection.

To create this effect I first applied my base coat (CND Stickey) and two coats of Wet n' Wild French White Creme and let it dry completely. I then added one light coat of Tangled In My Web which is pretty sparse to begin with. I then added another coat of Tangled In My Web but this time to only half my nail. I then added one more coat of Tangled In My Web to just the tips of my nails. I added two generous coats of China Glaze Fast Forward quick dry top coat.

I'm a sucker for black and white combinations. In fact the majority of my house is decorated in black and white. I'm completely in love with Tangled In My Web. I found the On The Prowl display at my local CVS. If you see the display do not hesitate to pick up a few, they're less than $2! Nice job Wet n' Wild! I'm very impressed.

Sally Hansen Extreme Wear Night Lights

First of all please excuse my tip wear. I made spiced pumpkin syrup from scratch last night after I did my nails which trashed my mani. Cutting up pumpkins is not a mani friendly activity. Anyways, on to the polish...

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Night Lights. Night Lights is a sheer charcoal jelly base loaded with wonderfully sparkly holo glitter. The picture shown is one coat of Night Lights over two coats of China Glaze Liquid Leather. Liquid leather is a semi jell black polish.  I adore Liquid Leather. It is my favorite black polish. It dries incredibly shiny even without top coat. I decided to layer Night Lights over Liquid Leather because I thought the darkness and opacity of Liquid Leather would really make the lovely holo glitter in Night Light pop. As you can see in the pic, each individual jewel of holo glitter is screaming for your attention. It's even more stunning in person. No comps this time because I do not have anything that would hold a candle to Night Lights. Truly a polish to make any polish junkie speechless.