Autumn Leaves

The first time I ever did this layering combination was last summer, in May. I thought it looked perfect for fall and I recently remembered it. I love Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, it transforms any colour and looks different depending on the base. Unfortunately, Hidden Treasure is discontinued, but you can buy GOSH Rainbow or Nubar 2010 to create the same look. Nfu-Oh might have a similar colour as well but I'm not sure. The base colour in this one is OPI Jade Is The New Black, one of my all time favourite greens.

This combination actually looks best in the shade, which is why the effect isn't as obvious in the last picture.

On an unrelated note, I've been thinking about creating a facebook profile or page specifically for this blog. I thought it would be cool to get to talk to you more often, get your feedback on things, etc. I would like some opinions on this though.. Should I make a facebook profile or a facebook page? There are pros and cons to both but I'm leaning more towards the actual profile. I feel it would be more interactive that way. On the other hand, if I made a page I wouldn't have to log in to another profile all the time. I could still be logged on to my personal facebook page, all I would have to do is visit the page when I want to post something. Either way, let me know which one you think I should do!

Thanks for reading. =)
Peace and Love,
Serena

Breast Cancer Awareness- Pink Ribbon Nail Art

I meant to post this a few days ago but I've been really busy lately. I had a huge essay on medieval times due. Anyway, I wanted to do a Breast Cancer Awareness manicure before October is over. I really liked this manicure, it is simple but people still realized what it stood for. I used Elf Metallic Pink for the base colour and L.A. Colors Art Deco Baby Pink for the dots. There are a variety of things you can use as a dotting tool, but I used a pencil for this manicure. Elf Metallic Pink was perfect in two coats and is a bright pink with a slight blue flash. It didn't have any brushstrokes and application was smooth.

This picture was taken after about 4-5 days of wear and this polish really held up well. I wore it without topcoat for 2 days and I didn't get any chips or tip wear. By day five I did get tip wear but it wasn't horrible. Pretty impressive for a polish that is only one dollar!

Here are a few facts about breast cancer:

• Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years. 
• You are never too young to develop breast cancer! Breast Self-Exam should begin by the age of twenty. 

• Approximately 1400 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2000 and 400 of those men will die.

I was surprised by the last fact. Most people don't think about men getting breast cancer!

Thanks for reading!
Peace and Love,
Serena

Topcoat Review: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat

Recently I have been using Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat. Ever since my Seche Vite began to thicken and bubble I decided to start trying different less hyped topcoats. I went to Walgreens specifically to purchase a yellow polish and saw a display of Insta Dri colours. Each colour was packaged with a free Insta Dri topcoat so I picked the package that contained Lightening. I wasn't sure this topcoat would be as quick drying as Seche Vite, but I was pleasantly surprised. It dried just as fast and had a similar shiny, glass like finish. This topcoat isn't as good for nail art and konad; the big brush makes it easier to smear nail art no matter how hard you try to prevent it.

The biggest downside to this topcoat is it gets thick, stringy, and bubbles. I started noticing this when the topcoat got down to where the word "Dri" is on the bottle. Karen (Frazzle and Aniploish) told me that nail polish thinner can remedy this issue. I'll probably be purchasing some for not only my topcoats but a few bottles of polish I own that could use thinning. All things considered, this topcoat is pretty good. I bought this at Walgreens and it costs around 3-4 dollars.Walgreens has sales on these periodically so sometimes they can be found for cheaper. Walmart and other drugstores also sell this line. This topcoat works perfectly to use before nail art. I usually put a layer of topcoat on before doing nail art/konad to make sure the base colour is completely dry.

Pros: Dries quickly, inexpensive, can be found at Walmart and drugstores, gives a smooth, glassy finish.
Cons: Smears nail art and konad, thickens up towards the bottom of the bottle.

This would be a great topcoat for someone who didn't do nail art frequently, or for use before nail art. I wasn't expecting much out of this and was surprised at how well it worked. It also didn't thicken up as quickly as Seche Vite so you can get lots of use out of it before you need to add thinner. I have already picked out a new topcoat which I will review once I have used it for awhile. Before I review anything I will always use it for three weeks or use half the bottle, whichever comes first. I've already been using it for a week but its too soon to say anything yet.

If you have any ideas of a topcoat I could try out to review let me know! (Especially if you know or have heard that it is good for nail art.)

Have you tried this topcoat? What do you think of it?
Peace and Love,
Serena

Weird Ghost

I've been loving the fall weather lately, but I don't like how early the sun starts setting! I rely on outdoor pictures so I guess I'm going to have to alter the way I take pictures for this blog. I might start taking pictures on my lunch hour before I go to tech school. Either way, I'll figure it out. Anyway, a few days ago I did a black and white ghost design. First I used GOSH Black Passion on all my nails, except the ring finger.  I painted the ring finger white using Pure Ice Superstar. Using a pencil, I made a dotted x on my pointer, middle, pinky finger, and thumb. Using LA Colors Art Deco Black and a craft store brush, I painted the eyes and mouth of the ghost on the ring finger.

GOSH Black Passion is a soft charcoal black with fine silver shimmer. It looks extremely similar to Misa Dying Love, but not exactly alike. It applied almost perfectly in one coat, I used two out of habit. Pure Ice Superstar is the white I used...and I hate it. Its chalky, streaky, thick, and takes 4 coats to smooth out! I don't recommend it. I bought it because I needed a white polish quickly for some nail art awhile back. This is the first time I have used it on its own though. Normally I just use it for nail art. It works fine for that! 

I've got a few different kinds of posts coming up soon. One of my ideas was to do a post about nail art. I'll cover tools, where to buy them, a few tips, and sources for inspiration. (Like tutorials, blogs, etc.) The  second thing I will be posting soon is a quick dry topcoat review. I am thinking about doing several quick dry topcoat reviews because I want to try several different ones and find the perfect one for me. I want one that dries quickly, isn't too thick, won't smear nail art, and doesn't get unbearably thick halfway through. Seche Vite works great, but I need to thin it out half way through the bottle. Seche Vite is also kind of expensive, considering I use a lot of topcoat. The one I am going to review is one I have almost used all the way up. I won't do a review of anything unless I've either used half of the product or I've been using it for at least a few weeks. I just bought a new topcoat to try out so in about a month we'll see how I feel about this one. I won't say what it is until I review it.. 

Thanks for reading! =)

Peace and Love,

Serena

Giveaway Goodies! (and a small rant..)

My giveaway goodies have finally arrived! Getting this package definitely brightened my day. =) This package came from Smita, I won her 100 followers giveaway. My pictures aren't so great, I would have taken them outdoors but I missed the sunlight today!

Here are the things I won:

L'Oreal Paris Ocean Breeze
GOSH Flamingo
GOSH Black Passion
GOSH Ocean
OPI Blue My Mind
Nicole by OPI Respect the World
Joe Fresh Mint
Joe Fresh Powder Blue
Joe Fresh Cherry
Sephora Top Coat
Essence Colour and Go No More Drama
Essence Nail Art Stickers

She also sent me candy!

So..which should I wear first?

I actually have some bad news I wanted to address real quick. I've been reading Kelly's blog (Vampy Varnish) for awhile now and I always enjoy her posts. Today she found out someone was stealing her content and reposting it on a site called Luuux. When I visited the thief's "blog" on the site I noticed Kelly wasn't the only beauty blogger she was stealing from. Polish Addict, Scrangie, ALU, Polish Mayhem, the Nailphile, and a few others were also on there. The worst part about this is that she is getting 'Luuux credits' that she can use to redeem prizes. It makes me sick that she is gaining from other peoples hard work. I encourage you to check out this Luuux site and report any instances of plagarism you see on there.  (As well as check to see if your content is being stolen) She isn't just reposting pictures, but blog entries! Kelly wrote her own post on the topic which has additional details. Now she is reposting recipes that are obviously from another website. Here is where all the polish/beauty entries are:  http://www.luuux.com/members/kelly-brennan?page=10 Don't comment on her posts because she gets luuux credits when you do. Just click the report button.

I can't believe she is doing this, even when confronted she still stands by what she is doing. I personally would never steal content like this. It can't possibly be rewarding for her to receive comments on a post she didn't create..

Alright, rant over... What do you think about all this?

Peace and Love,
Serena

Fright Night Claw Polish - Black and Orange Glitter

I picked this Fright Night polish up at the same time I got the green one, Toxic. Unfortunately it was missing the sticker so I'm not sure what its called. Chase named it "Glitter Sh*t". =P This one is a pretty standard Halloween colour; black and orange glitter in a clear base. Its too sheer to be used alone. (In my opinion.) I was thinking of what I should wear under this and Chase suggested a metallic silver. So I chose China Glaze Millenium and then used 1-2 coats of the Fright Night. (Some nails needed more glitter.) I really like this combination, its much cooler looking than using a light orange creme...which was my first thought.

These are in the Halloween section at Wal Mart and cost three dollars each. Like I said in my previous post I think these bottles are cool looking and worth buying just for that. It is tough to get the glitter even on all nails. Some nails have 2 coats, others have one. This colour is nothing like Fortune Teller. Fortune Teller is a black polish with hexagonal and circular orange glitter.

Have you bought any of these coffin shaped polishes? Are there any you want to get?
Peace and Love,
Serena

Coffin shaped nail polish bottles? Fright Night Claw Polish - Toxic

When I first saw these coffin shaped polishes on Jen's blog (the Polish-Aholic), I had to go to Wal Mart and look for them. It took me awhile to find them because my Wal Mart is extremely inconsistent about where they put the Halloween stuff. Some of it was in the clothing aisle, but most of it was in the back near where the car stuff is. They had several different colours: a glittering red, a creme red, black, orange, black and orange bar glitter in a clear base, and a metallic emerald green. I chose the emerald green, Toxic, and the black and orange glitter that didn't have a name sticker.

I decided to use the emerald green first. The colour selection on these isn't mind blowing or anything; Its the coffin shaped bottles that made me want to pick up a few! Holding the trapezoid shaped top is a bit awkward at first but its not too bad. I wasn't expecting great application with these but they applied well. I only needed two coats and the brush wasn't too thin either.

The colour is gorgeous, the application was fairly easy, and the bottles are to die for. These cost 3 dollars each and are only available at Wal Mart. Next post I'll be showing the black and orange string glitter. Its definitely nowhere close to Fortune Teller. This one has different shaped glitter (rectangular, not circular and hexagonal) and it definitely can't be worn on its own. (I did a three coat swatch on paper and it didn't come close to being opaque enough.)

Any application issues you see in the pictures are due to Seche Vite... both it and my bottle of Insta Dri aren't working anymore. They're thick, stringy and leave streaks and bubbles. Any quick dry top coat recommendations? I was really pleased with Insta Dri and Seche until they went bad on me before I even finished them! I want to see if I can find any quick dry topcoat that works better so if you know a good one let me know. =)

Peace and Love,
Serena

Lavender Paisley with Essence Colour and Go

Last weekend my mom went to Ulta and while she was there she picked up 3 Essence Colour and Go polishes. They're mini bottles and contain 5 mL of lacquer. I believe they were .99 cents. The one I decided to wear this week is called No More Drama. Its a pale lavender creme and dried to a very shiny finish. It looked like I already had topcoat on. I was really impressed with the application of this, it went on really smooth and was almost opaque in one coat. The brush is also easy to use. Mini bottles are usually frustrating for me because most of them have thin, small brushes.  At first it reminded me of the OPI Pro Wide brush but this one is not quite so wide and its more flat. The back of the bottle said, "Nail Polish with flat brush for a smooth and easy application, quick dry." I'm happy to say that this lived up to that claim. I really hope the rest of these Essence colours are as good!

Its been awhile since I did a Konad manicure so I did one last night. I love paisley prints so I chose plate m60. Then I used China Glaze Grape Pop to stamp the design. I love the way it turned out but stamping with non Konad polishes is a little bit tougher than if you do use their polish. I only have black and white Konad polish though, and I get bored of only using those. This one worked pretty well though. The design is clear, it didn't smear and the design picked up on the stamp. (Some polishes I've tested with Konad won't pick up on the stamp. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal had this problem.) 

Yesterday I reorganized my nail polish and updated my nail polish 'catalogue'. (Yep, when it comes to my nail stuff I try to be as organized as possible!) I have a sketch book where I paint a swatch of the colour on a page of the sketch book and put a number next to it. On another page I have a numbered list of polish names. I got the idea to update my original polish collection post and link to the polishes I have featured on this blog from that post. So if you go to that post, and see a polish name that you would like to see a picture of, click on the link. If its not linked, then I haven't used it since I started this blog. (edit: finished the links!) If you have any requests or questions, comment on this post, my collection post, or email me. (lacquerlove@gmail.com) What colour(s) would you like to see me use next? 

Thanks for reading! =)

Peace and Love,

Serena

A nail art tribute to my kitties!

I appreciate all the support and comments I received in my last post! I've been doing well, much better than I thought I would. I read over my last post and realized it had some verb tense issues. I originally wrote that post before she passed, on Friday. I planned to post it before we had her put to sleep but couldn't find the pictures. (Turns out I was looking on the wrong flash drive!) Then I put the pictures in the post I had written but didn't fix the verb tenses. Just wanted to clear that up, I didn't really proofread that post at all.

 Friday night I was really upset and I wanted to take my mind off things so I did this manicure with paw prints. The base is Misa Cherry Topping and the paw print was done using a thin artist brush dipped in black polish. Cherry Topping has a jelly finish but is opaque in 3 coats.

I thought it would be appropriate to take pictures of my nails with Misty but cats aren't always cooperative in front of a camera. I did manage to get one decent shot though.

Maybe she likes to be viewed from the side? =P And here is a mess up one, just for fun. My nails are out of focus...

Once again, thanks for all the sweet comments. =)
Thanks for reading!
Peace and Love,
Serena

R.I.P. my precious kitty...

I planned to have another post up yesterday but lately I haven't been feeling like doing my nails. My cat, Tikal has been really sick for a few weeks now. (Not the cat I posted pictures of in this post.) I've had this cat for eight years now and she has always been healthy. The vet took blood and figured out she had Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  She hasn't kept any food down the past for almost the past week and she won't keep medicine down either. All she can do is drink water. Saturday my mom took her to the vet to be put to sleep... Part of me is sad to loose her but another part of me is relieved. She has experienced nothing but pain lately and it was extremely painful for me to see her suffering.

Its heartbreaking to see her everyday, barely moving. She used to be so active...she couldn't stay inside for too long. A dead mouse would be left on our porch (or somewhere around the outside of our house) every few days. Across the street from the side of our house is a large field and a hill. If you go over that hill you will see a small pond and further back, someones house. My kitty loved to go to that field, she loved to sit next to the pond. If I ever wanted to find her she was usually there.

Sorry about the depressing post, but I really wanted to write about this as well as share the pictures I took of her special place. R.I.P. Tikal... I miss you.

Thanks for reading...
Peace and Love,
Serena