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

Fun Floral

Hi Dolls:) Well Summer has officially started, especially here in the south! I am always super busy this time of year, but I wouldn't have it any other way!!!! Today I have a fun floral summer mani to share with you:) I used 6 China Glaze polishes for this look, Too Yacht Too Handle, I'd Melt for You, Daisy Know My Name, Dashboard Dreamer, Lip Smackin' Good and Let's Jam. I also used a black and white creme for accents   For my accent nail I free handed flowers using the watercolor method of diluting the colors with acetone:)  

I would say this was a pretty easy mani to do, as far as skill, but it was time consuming:) Now I am off to pack for our family vaca, but loves to you all!!!

♥ Melissa

Reverse Stamping Take 2

Happy Friday Dolls:) So for today's mani I did a reverse stamp. Now I have tried reverse stamping method before and it wasn't a real success as it peeled half way through Day 2:( So I tweaked some things and gave it another shot! I used just a silicone baking mat to do this method, but you could use a beauty mat or something similar. I put my SV top coat down and then stamped in black the pattern that I wanted. I filled in the design with OPI OPI on Collins Ave., Essie Good as Gold and China Glaze Too Yacht Too Handle. Once this was semi-dry I put China Glaze Girls Just Want to Have Sun over top of the design. Now working one nail/decal at a time I top coated the decal... waited a few min and put a base of CG Girls Just Want to Have Sun on my nail.  I carefully peeled up the decal and placed it on the wet base. I then cleaned up the edges and then top coat it again making sure to seal everything in. Rinse and repeat for the other 9:) Here is the finished product!

I am really proud of how well this mani turned out and it lasted 5 full days:) I still managed to smudge a few spots and it took a lot longer to do this method than I thought it would. There are lots of youtube videos that give great tutorials on this method. I found after several failed attempts to not let the decals dry completely, but you don't want them tacky either so somewhere right in between! That way the decal doesn't curl up and will lay down completely on your nail. I will definitely use this method again in the future!  Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

♥ Melissa

Neon Dotted Mani

So last week after I got the new China Glaze Lite Brites collection I just had to do a little nail art:) (see my full review here) Simple nail art is my fav, mostly because it is a quick way to up your nail game! And when you have a toddler running around your ankles quick is essential.  I did a basic white base coat and then grabbed Lime After Lime, Whip It Good, None of Your Risky Business, and I'll Pink to That. I did some basic dots in different sizes, added a top coat and DONE!

See simple but beautiful!!! The more I use this collection the more I Love it!!! Hope you all have a great weekend:) 

♥ Melissa

China Glaze Lite Brites swatches and review

TGIF Dolls!!!! I love this time of year, perfect temperatures and more time outside playing with my kiddos!!! Not to mention bright colors everywhere:) That is one thing I really don't like about winter everything is so brown and dreary. And speaking of bright colors I have the new China Glaze Lite Brites collection to share with you today:) This collection is packed full of fun, neon and super bright colors and the names of the polishes will bring a hint of nostalgia:) 

*press sample*

We Got the Beet is a squishy medium purple jelly with a ton of gold micro glitter! Looking at this one in the bottle I was not sure that I would like it, it looks "thick"... then I put it on and it started to get gritty on the nail as it dried and I said Oh NO:( But I added a coat of Gelous and SV and it is fabulous!

Let's Jam is a gorgeous lilac purple with a strong blue shimmer! With colors like this I always worry that the shimmer won't translate to the nail, but that was not necessary with this beauty. The shimmer is strong with this one!

I Got A Blue Attitude is a rich blurple with a teal/blue shimmer! This one played games with my camera and my eyes! In one light it is a rich medium purple and in another light a rich medium blue... This one has a very subtle shimmer that you can kinda catch a glimpse of in the macro shot, I was hope for a stronger shimmer but it just isn't so!

Hot Flash is a true red neon:) Just that description alone is a conundrum, can there even be a true red that is neon without crossing over into the realm of pink... Well CG did it with this gem! Even though the neon doesn't translate over into the pics, it did make my camera go all wonky like most neons do.

Papa Don't Peach is a squishy orange/peach jelly packed with gold micro glitter.  It has the same grittiness as We Got The Beet, but this one I knew I would love! This one has a slight lean toward neon but it is not quite there.  I also did a coat of Gelous and SV with this one!

None of Your Risky Business is a light neon orange, almost like a sun bleached neon but a little brighter.  As soon as I saw this I thought I had seen it before, and turns out it looks remarkably close to Home Sweet House Music that came out last summer. Risky Business is just a tad lighter so "similar but not the same" :)

Bite Me is a classic neon pink shimmer with a slight lean toward coral! This is the only polish that I had formula issues with:( It was thick, not unmanageable thick but I had to be careful to not make my coats too thick... But a bonus is I definitely did not have to worry about cuticle pooling:)

Lip Smackin' Good is a bubble gum pink neon with a hidden purple shimmer.  This shimmer is almost undetectable but is just enough to make it interesting!

I'll Pink to That is a perfect hot pink neon! I think I may have found my new favorite hot pink.  This beauty has a cooler tone to it than the other pinks in this collection! 

Whip It Good is a pale lemon yellow neon. This gem is one of my favs, I love the fact that it is neon yellow but not like a highlighter!  This is bottled sunshine:)

Lime After Lime is a gorgeous neon lime green! Another favorite of mine in this collection:) I just can't get over how bright and fun this color is.

What I Like About Blue is a neon sky blue shimmer:) Now in the bottle this color looks muted... but once you put it on it brightens right up! I love the silver shimmer in this polish it just makes it glow:)

All swatches are 2 coats with a coat of SV.  I had no problems with formula, except with Bite Me being kinda thick. Coverage and opacity were great:) I am super impressed with this whole collection.  My favorite part about these is the coverage and vividness of the colors, most neons need white undies to make them pop but not these!  My favorites are Let's Jam, I'll Pink to That, Whip it Good and Lime after Lime:) Hope you have a great weekend!

♥ 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*

Yellow Polka Dot...

Everybody knows the song Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini!!!! Even though it came out decades before I was born:) When I received Lemon Drops from Barielle's new Protect Plus Color with ProSina line, it was the first thing that came to mind!!!! ProSina is a specialized keratin that is infused into the polish to help protect and strengthen weak nails, awesome!!!!  But there is NO WAY that I am putting on a Bikini and posting photos, so instead I used that song as inspiration for this mani!!!!

*press sample*

Lemon Drops is a bright yellow creme! I used 2 coats and dotted on an easy pattern in white and followed it all up with a coat of SV. The wear time on this mani was decent for me, no tip wear or chipping until day 3:)  Of course I was doing laundry and we all know how that can destroy a mani!

♥ 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*

Springtime Fun!!!

Hi Dolls!!! Now Springtime is full swing and pollen is EVERYWHERE:) They say inspiration can come from the strangest places... so here is my pollen inspired mani:) For this mani I used China Glaze Girls Just Wanna Have Sun for my base! I love this pale yellow creme it is so gorgeous!!! I stamped Zoya  Tilda a light grass green creme using Ejiubas plate EJB-01 from the Wonders Of Life collection:) 

This mani turned out better that I could have hoped!!!! I have always stayed away from stamping with colors mostly because it is so hard to find colors that stamp without having to buy "stamping polish"!!!! But really it is just trial and error to see what works, and this clearly works:) Hope you are having a great week!!!!

♥  Melissa

House Of Colour by China Glaze

Happy Friday Dolls!!!! Today I have China Glaze's newest collection,  House of Colour:) Now looking at the previews for this collection I was kinda meh about it, but there were a few that really struck me:) But when these babies came in the mail I got excited because the previews do not do this collection justice at all!!!!

*press sample*

First up is Let's Chalk About It, a Soft White Creme with just a hint of pink:) Great formula with only slight streaking on the first coat! Here is 2 coats

About Layin' Out is a gorgeous Salmon Pink Crelly:) This polish just looks juicy, builds up opacity in 2 coats but I did 3 coats just to take care of VNL (visable nail line)

Don't Be Shallow is a Sky Blue Crelly, one of my favs of this collection!!! The coverage is the same as About Layin' Out, good build up in 2 coats! But again I did 3 coats to take care of VNL:) not to mention it is one of Pantone's Color of the Year (Serenity)!

Shut The Front Door is a Medium Purple Crelly base with a very intense pink shimmer!!! This one is definitely unique in my collection, and I Love Unique:) Here is 2 coats

Chrome Is Where The Heart Is, a Blush colored Chrome!!! Like most chrome polishes this beauty has a tendency to streak on application:( but it is a 1 coat wonder!!!!

In The Near Fuchsia is a Fuchsia Crelly!!!! A great berry color with that lovely crelly squishiness that we all love!!!  The coverage is slightly more dense than the first two crellys in this collection as this took only 2 coats:)

Pink or Swim is a  Dusty Bubblegum Pink Creme!!! The formula was much thicker than the rest of the collection but still workable, here is 2 coats!  This is a slightly darker version of Pantone's second color of the year (Rose Quartz)

Sorry I'm Latte is a Nude Creme with pink/orange undertone! This one is a great neutral and perfect palate cleanser!!! Here is 2 coats:)

Glitter Me This... is a Gold, pale pink and white multi sized glitter topper in clear base! Now after looking at the pics I wish I had done this over a different color... The awesomeness of the combo IRL just didn't transfer in pics. The distribution of the glitters is perfect, no fishing at all!!! Here is 1 coat over Sorry I'm Latte:) 

Girls Just Wanna Have Sun is a Pale Yellow Creme! Now pale yellows are hard to do right so as not to wash out the skin, but this one is perfect!!!! Here is 2 coats:)

Come Rain Or Shine is a Medium Blue crelly with intense pink shimmer!!! There is nothing hidden about the shimmer in this polish, it is apparent in every light!!!! Here is 2 coats:)

Moonlight the Night is the last in this collection! It is a menagerie of  blue, purple, teal, and orange translucent glitters!! Looking at this polish in the bottle it appears to be in a blue jelly base, but fear not the base is clear!!! Here is 1 coat on all nails with several layers sponged on my ring finger!!! 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like this collection!!!! It has a little something for everyone!!!! My personal fave are Something to Chalk About, Girls Just Wanna Have Sun, Don't Be Shallow, and Come Rain or Shine:)

♥ 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*