Neon Double Stamping and some thoughts on blogging

So it has been a while since I have posted. I just haven't been feeling up to blogging much lately. The world of blogging has changed so much since I started... It is way more about photo-shopping skills these days for both bloggers and makers. I used to look at 40 - 50 blogs per week, looking at new collections, swatches, nail art designs. Now I look at maybe 4 for swatches because I trust those bloggers not to photo-shop the polish (for color, effect, holo-ness). It is so disheartening. There are several other reasons too, but I am still painting and doing nail art all of the time! Here is a mani I did a couple of weeks ago. 

I did a base of white with a coat of Nina Pro Solar Flare, a highlighter yellow neon!!! I double-stamped black and holo using a clear jelly stamper and Ejiubas plate EJB-02. This mani turned out exactly as I wanted it to. But it did make me realize I need some new stamping plates!!!

🎔 Melissa

Zoya Urban Grunge Metallic Holos

So a couple of days ago I showed you the Zoya Urban Grunge 1 coat creams:) Well today I have the second part of Urban Grunge, the METALLIC HOLOS!!!! This collection reminds me so much of the Ornate collection from winter 2012. This collection is glamorous, rich and perfect for fall!!

*press sample*

Alicia is a silver scattered linear holo with just a hint of gold! I like the term Scattered Linear for this polish because it is a blend of both:) She is so beautiful and shiny and doesn't need direct light to truly sparkle!

Finley is deep royal purple scattered holo:) She has a deep purple leaning blue almost jelly base and a massive amount of holo shimmer micro shards! She reminded me so much of Aurora, however Finley leans much more blue and Aurora leans much more pink! She is my total favorite in this collection, and is deep in competition with Aurora for my favorite Zoya ever!!!

Merida is a brilliant evergreen scattered holo! A blackened green squishy jelly like base with a ton of green holo micro shards:) She just shines so much like a christmas tree all lit up on your tips!!!

Ash is a deep cherry red metallic with a dramatic red and gold shimmer!!! She is a classic beauty with just a hint of sass:) She is a perfect pop of red to go with all of the browns and blacks I wear in the fall!!!

Britta is a rich berry with deep red and purple shimmers. She is flashy and subtle all at the same time. She is the quintessential fall nail color that looks great on everyone and perfect for the coming cooler weather! 

Troy is the final polish in this collection. He is like liquid pewter with and edge:) With just a hint of black and gold he really stands out! He reminds me of Tris from the Flair collection but the finish os more of a foil with way more reflective shine!

All swatches are 2 coats with no top coat! The formula as always leaves nothing to be desired, it is perfect!!! Zoya totally rocked this whole collection! I can't wait for them to do more holos:) This collection is available now on Zoya.com for $10 per color or $60 for the collection:)    

♥ Melissa

*Press Sample: Some of the products in this post were sent to me for review. I was not paid for my review of this product and all opinions are my own*

Sheer Madness

The newest collection by Chirality is Sheer Madness, and it is madness how beautiful these six polishes are!!!! This collection is 6 sheer holo toppers in an array of colors:) These gems are perfect for adding a little something sweet to your existing mani or to play with some fun layering!!! Here is the first mani I did with this collection, a simple skittle gradient (with no sponging needed)!

*press sample*

 Feeling Blue Cheese is a sheer bright blue:) 

I Donut Like Puns is a sheer bright pink!

Jalapeno Business is a sheer seafoam green:)

 Raise the Steaks is a sheer maroon with a slight lean toward purple! 

 Currant Events is a sheer charcoal gray with a hint of brown:)

 Turnip the Beet is a sheer bright lavender!

For all of the swatches I did 3 coats on my pointer, middle and pinky finger, 1 coat over black on my ring finger! 3rd pic on all colors is Direct sunlight:)  The formula is phenomenal for all of these beauties!!! Sheer and Jelly like, but great at self leveling (no streaking here)!!!! and the Holo-y goodness is undeniable!!!! This Collection will be available Jan 23rd and will be $10 per color at http://chirality.bigcartel.com/  

♥ Melissa

*Press Sample: Some of the products in this post were sent to me for review. I was not paid for my review of this product and all opinions are my own*

Treble Maker

Who LOVES neon???? I DO:) A couple of weeks ago China Glaze released the much anticipated Electric Nights Collection! As soon as I saw the press releases I knew I was gonna have to grab quite a few of these (six to be specific). The first one I wanted to show off is Treble Maker! This baby is an electric neon green cream, and it is gorgeous!!! I did 2 coats over 1 coat of white to make the color pop, and followed it up with a coat of SV:)

 Now as gorgeous as Treble Maker is, I just had to do one of my favorite things and add an additional topcoat.  The topcoat I decided on was Mentality Matte Holo topcoat!!! This gem is matte and holo all at the same time, it adds an additional dimension to the polish and tones it down just slightly:)  

Don't you just love this color??? and with the top coat WOW!!! 

♥ Melissa

all products in this post were purchased by me

Smokey Mountain Lacquers Holiday 2014

Happy Monday Dolls!!! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!!! Today I have 3 polishes from Smokey Mountain Lacquers Holiday 2014 Collection:) Now this is my first experience with Smokey Mountain Lacquers, and I am impressed!!! 

*press sample*

First off the packaging is Super cute and done really well!!!! Now on to the polish:)

 Halo is a beautiful white creme that has a pink and green flash to it:) This is my favorite!!! and next to a Holo that is saying a LOT!!!! This polish just has a underglow to it that makes it stand out without being a harsh white:) Here is 2 coats with a coat of SV:)

A Walk through Eden is next! This is a deep green linear Holo, totally gorgeous!!!! Formula is excellent on this beauty with only one coat needed and a coat of SV:)

Pop the Bubbly is the last one I have today:) This Gold Glitterbomb is sooooo sparkly and has super good coverage:) Here are 2 coats followed with a coat of SV. This polish without a topcoat has a textured finish!!!

So What Do you think??? I Love them and can't to see what Smokey Mountain Lacquers brings next!!! This collection goes live Wednesday 11/12/14 at 8pm EST:) and will be available at http://www.smokeymountainlacquers.com/  :) 

 ♥ Melissa

*Press Sample: Some of the products in this post were sent to me for review. I was not paid for my review of this product and all opinions are my own*

Born Pretty Nail Stamping Plate

Happy Wednesday Dolls!!! Wow what a morning I have had, it just seems like nothing is going my way today:( So I am gonna just dive right in to what makes me happy... Polish:)

*press sample*

I have been reviewing some nail art products from Born Pretty and I just had to try out their stamping plates:) I pick out the vintage floral arabesque  template, it has 13 designs!!!! I Love the way holos look on super dark colors so I picked OPI Honk if you Love OPI and stamped it with Color Club Cloud Nine:) 

I am super happy with this stamping plate, I love the design and had no problem with picking up the image:) You can get this plate from the Born Pretty Store and you can get 10% off  with the coupon code below:)

♥ Melissa

*Press Sample: Some of the products in this post were sent to me for review. I was not paid for my review of this product and all opinions are my own*