Mystery Solved!

People always ask me what a mystery polish is.  Basically it's just a polish that isn't part of a collection or part of the permanent line that is either an experiment or a protype.  You purchase it not knowing at all what you'll get!  Several companies actually offer prototypes or mystery polishes and I have to admit, I love them!  Not every shop will always have the listed all the time, in fact, they're most often a promotional sort of thing so following a polish's social media is one of the best ways to see when they'll be available.

Inspired

Lung Ta are hung high in the skies of Nepal to ask for blessings and comfort.

Friday Favourites

This week my favs are all polishes!

From top to bottom: Mint to Be from Drop Drop, Dreams of the Canary from Candied Apple, Cream Filled from Native War Paints, Pixie Wings from Fairytale Finish, and Sugar and Snuff and Galoshes from Heather's Hues!

3,000 IG Followers!

I woke up this morning and in the haze of brewing my cafe and getting Mia ready for school I popped onto IG and had to blink.  Sometime last night I hit 3K followers!

While I have been trying to stick to a solid blogging schedule to offer more in depth posts than just posting a couple of pictures a day on IG, it's still my primary means of socializing and sharing.  Needless to say, hitting the milestone was huge and you know what else it means?

It's time for:

Included is:

• A Monthly Planner from Yellow Paper House
• Kiko Eyeshadow single in 129
• Rocket Lippie Stick and Tea Party Super Shock Shadow from Colour Pop Cosmetics
• Pinking Out the Window Polish from China Glaze
• In Bloom Polish from Color Club
• Pink Elephant Stamping Polish from Just Rica
• Iris Stamping Polish from Mundos de Unas
• Mirrorball HOLO from Orly
• Blue Sugar Cuticle Oil from 365
• Gem Glam Top Coat in Jelly Bean from Dream Polish
• Crumpets n Jam and Sunshine and Clovers Polishes from Candied Apple
• Bundle Monster Stamping Plate in XL07 (not pictured!)

This is not a sponsored giveaway, all items were purchased by me.

The rules are as follows for IG:

• Must be 18 or older, I am international and cannot budge on this.
• You MUST be a follower.  If you follow and then unfollow after the contest ends, you will be banned from entering future giveaways.  I do one about once a month, although this is a BIG one.
• No giveaway accounts!  If your IG account is over 75% giveaway reposts, you have a giveaway account.
• You may repost the giveaway post once for one entry, make sure you tag the post #Gias3kGiveaway and tag  a friend who might be interested!
• You may recreate one of my manis for a second entry, make sure you tag the post #Gias3kGiveaway.
• The giveaway ends May 1st and the winner will be chosen at random on May 3rd from the entries with the correct #!  A RUNNER UP prize will be chosen after that, on May 5th.

Thank you everyone who's been so supportive and inspirational.  You've meant so much to me!

With Glitter and Gratitude,

The Glitter Mafia

It started as sort of a joke.  Then the idea planted itself and although this year has brought about new challenges for me, I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to the concept.

With glitter and gratitude I am proud to announce that the first wave of Glitter Mafia boxes went out this week.

The Glitter Mafia is my personal mission to spread kindness.  To send smiles.  To encourage the same sense of gratitude I feel everyday in others.  In the box is a little kit, so to speak.  There's a Custom Apple, a pink and silvery glitter bomb as well as a couple other goodies.

When someone wears the glitter and sees the flashes of it on their fingertips I hope it serves as a small reminder to pay to pay it forward.  If the remembrance of the gift makes you smile, give a smile to someone else.

As time goes on and I'm able, I'll send more boxes to more friends.

Bling!

• Apply a base coat.
• Using Libra from Black Cat Lacquer apply an even layer, spacing out the glitter if you need to.

• Let it dry.
• Apply a thin and even coat of the sheer of your choice.

• Let dry.
• Apply a mask around your nail to protect your skin.

• Stamp an open and sparse image using white polish.

• Remove mask.
• Let the stamped image dry.
• Apply a second thin and even coat of your sheer polish.  You could try to use an accentuatin colour to create depth.
• Apply a top coat.
•  Tidy up if required!

Inspired

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.

Khalil Gibran

Used:

• Pinky Promise Just Rica
• Plastered in Pink Painted Polish
• Fiore di Ciliegio Candied Apple Polish
• Vivid Laquer plate 022

Friday Favourites

I had a quiet week.  Without a car there isn't much to be done, really.  I did end up getting a few projects done around the house I'd been meaning to and spent some time with Mia and the kittens.

Lavazza Mio
I posted about my little espresso machine before, but this week I realllly put it to use!  I had a coupon for the little pods and had stocked up and so I enjoyed trying out the various brews and blends.  To get an idea of just how small this is I took a couple pictures with the famous 'You Are Here' mugs from Starbucks!

Marvel's Agents of SHEILD
I watched the first season of this sporadically, it's not something that's all that popular here that I remembered.  It popped up someplace over the weekend and so I spent the last week marathoning season 2 and trying to catch myself up.  I adore Agent Coulson.

Sunny's Bath Whip
I know, you've heard me rave about Sunny's before.  This time I'm going to sing the praises of her new Bath Whip, which is amazing as shaving cream.  You only need a little and it's great!  It's not thick or gross or oily and it's been the exact perfect thing for me.

Effective!

I ran across Revlon's Transforming Effects Matte Pearl Glaze the other day and having heard nothing about it, thought I'd give it a try.  I see people use Holographic Pearls, which is from the same range, but I'm not sure why MPG hasn't gotten more love, it's amazing!

They describe the finish as pearl, which means that it's got a slight shimmery pink to it.  It sort of reminds me of an opal finish and so I promptly tried it over a black and white design.  This is Drip Drop Nail Paints Tighty Whites and Yoga Pants.  Unfortunately it smears the stamped image, but knowing that I worked with it in a thicker coat and didn't fuss.

 I then tried it over a glitterbomb, Fairytale Finish's Pixie Wings.  It's just remarkable.  I tend to love the look of matte glitter, but with the added pink sheen, it's just otherworldly.

 Lastly I tried it over a simple (ok, not-so-simple) white crelly, this is Drip Drop Nail Paint's Spring Grab Bag 002.  It's just so dang cute!  I was thinking I'd start over with this look, layering in a floral stamped look!

This is what I came up with!  Knowing that MPG smears, I used Mundos de Unas, since that stuff doesn't budge.  I do recomend masking your skin off with something when you use these stamping polishes, though, because they don't budge.

Have you tried this polish?  What do you think?

Inspired

Christianity gave Eros poison to drink; he did not die of it, certainly, but degenerated to Vice.

Friedrich Nietzche

 Used:

• Distrubed Potions Steampunk Princess
• Fairytale Finish Gadgets and Gizmos Aplenty
• Mundo de Unas Bronze
• Mo You tropical Plate 08
• Bundle Monster Plate XL-21

Mani of the Month: April

Even on my supertight budget now, this is one expense I allowed to splurge on.  I would hate to miss a box, they keep getting better.

This month the box contained:

From Dream Polish

•  A 5 ml Gem Smooth Base Coat in Stormy Nights
• A 5ml Gem Glam Top Coat in Stormy Nights
• A full sized cuticle balm in Stormy Nights

From Heather's Hues 

• A polish mini in Rain, Rain, Go Away
• A full sized polish in The Calm Before the Storm (thermal)

From Nails Redesigned 

• A sheet of vinyl umbrellas
• A sheet of vinyl raindrop masks
• An assortment of gems

Once again, Heather has made an amazing and dramatic thermal.  It goes from a beautiful soft clear blue to WHITE.

It changes quite easily and while wearing it the effect is stunning, your mani is never the same twice. 

The formula is nice and pigmented and well blended, you do not need to 'work' the color up for opacity, it was creamy and lovely in only two coats.  Most amazingly, though, is that I discovered that it's great to stamp with.  

 

You might need to be a little practiced, it's thin, but it's totally worth it.

This month's scent from Dream Polish is Stormy Nights, and it's not what I was expecting.  It's more of an ozone scent, fresh with a hint of green to it.  Unfortunately it's almost the exact scent of a popular bathroom cleaner here, although it's not unpleasant in the least.  And as usual, Dream Polish Gem Glam top coat is the only top coat I use!

I loved the raindrop stencils this month from Nails Redesigned.  They were made from a nice clear vinyl that stuck really nicely and wedded easily.  I've ran into some vinyls in the past where the kiss cut isn't clean and you can't remove the negative spaces in the stencil without it distorting or tearing.  I never have that issue with NR vinyls!  I even used the little umbrella this month, it was the perfect blue match to the accent polish, Rain Rain, Go Away.

These boxes are always always amazing and always always worth the wait.  Did you manage to snag May's box before it sold out?!

Friday Favourites

I have a few things to be thankful for this week, the major one being that no one was hurt Wednesday morning as my car was plowed into by someone else.

I'm not sure if it's salvageable, but I also don't know if I can afford to fix it anyway.  I paid a massive (600€) fine this morning, and I don't know if that's the end of it.  I am mostly just emotionally battered, but otherwise I'm fine!

On the other hand, I am once again amazed at the kindness of this nail community.  Is that even what it's called?  I'm not sure, but it's nice knowing there are people thinking about you and sending not just happy thoughts but boxes full of glitter and pretty!

I'm proud to support small businesses, created and run by industrious entrepreneurial women!

What's on you grateful for this week?