Guest Post Series, with Chameleon Stampede

Here are are at a Monday... again. For me, this Monday has always marked the beginning of the end of summer because here in Canada the kids go back to school the day after Labour day. It's always a fun week, because we head to our cottage on Pelee Island for a week of relaxation with the family, but it's also a sad week because we know the relaxed vibe of summer is coming to an end.

In my absence this week, you will no doubt enjoy these colourful creations by Mandy, of Chameleon Stampede. Mandy always has a variety of different looks, to suit just about anyone's tastes. From indies, to  mainstream, from stamping to nail art, she will show you something fun. She also has tutorials, comparisons, and other random beauty related posts.

You can also check Chameleon Stampede out on any of her social media sites:

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/MandyChameleon

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/MandyChameleon

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/chameleonstampe/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104751266514379854989/posts

Instagram: http://instagram.com/chameleonstampede

Thank you Mandy, for sharing your creations with us!

♥Pam♥

 

Hello everyone!  <waves>

I'm so excited to do a guest post today for the amazing Pam!  My name is Mandy and I have a blog called Chameleon Stampede www.ChameleonStampede.blogspot.com  I wanted to do something special, so I decided to give one stroke flowers another try.  One stroke mani's always look special to me.  I also turned to my jewelry for color inspiration.

The base of this mani is 2 coats of China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On.  It's one of those perfect spring/summer mint colors with some added shimmer and it's got the best name! 

I really like tone on tone designs because they are subtle and bold somehow at the same time.  I made these green petals that don't really resemble any particular flower, but they're still fun.  I added some yellow to make them stand out and add depth.

I love how my thumb turned out!  It looks the best… maybe because it was the last nail I did and I had a bit of practice at that point.

Here's a quick pick of my bracelets in case you want to see them.  This pattern was a pain in the butt, but they turned out ok.  I always notice the mistakes, but I think we all have a bad habit of doing that with our own work.

I hope you like my mani and that you'll join me soon in the CHAMELEON STAMPEDE!

Thanks again for having me Pam!

Thanks and love!

-Mandy

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Guest Post Series; with Maggie's Manicures

 Today I am very excited to share with you, a post by Maggie, of MAGGIE'S MANICURES. I came upon Maggie's lovely swatches, and wonderful colour pairings on her INSTAGRAM FEED

She has also recently started a blog, and it's totally worth checking out.

Thank you Maggie, for the guest post today!

♥Pam♥ 

Hey everyone! I'm excited to be doing my very first guest post on Pam's blog! Today I have a really fun skittle mani for you.

I started off painting my base colors. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on my index and ring fingers, Essie Bikini So Teeny on my middle finger, Zoya Shelby on my pinkie and China Glaze Tart-y For The Party on my thumb. I used two coats of each polish for the pictures below.

On my index and ring fingers I created a gradient by blending Bikini So Teeny, Tart-y For The Party and Shelby onto my nails using a makeup sponge. On my middle finger, I used the Saran Wrap technique to dab on Tart-y For The Party over the blue.

Starting with the index finger, I applied one coat of Hard Candy Black Tie Optional, a black and white glitter with multiple shapes and sizes.

On my middle finger, I made roses. Using a large dotting tool, I put big dots of Shelby on my nail. Then, I took my smallest dotting tool and made white swirls around the pink dots with My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Finally, I used the same small dotting tool to make the green leaves with Essie The More The Merrier.

On my ring finger I did leopard print. I used a medium dotting tool and put pink dots (I should say blobs instead of dots, the leopard print looks more realistic if the dots aren't perfectly circular) over the blue parts of the gradient and blue dots over the pink part of the gradient. Then, I took my smallest dotting tool and painted black brackets over the dots using Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris. I also filled in the spaces in between with more black spots and brackets.

On my pinkie I used a medium dotting tool, Bikini So Teeny and Tart-y For The Party to create alternating rows of polka dots.

Finally, I used my Kiss striper polish in white to create the lines on my thumb.

I finished off the manicure with one coat of Out The Door Topcoat. I had so much fun creating this look! I hope you guys like it, too.

Thanks everyone!

Maggie, from Maggie's Manicures

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Sinful Happy Ending

Since I am waiting on supplies to arrive, to begin bottling the next Girly Bits collection, I thought I would dig through the vault of swatches I  have. I came across Sinful, Happy Ending. I happen to love this colour. It's a beautiful vibrant green with a gorgeous shimmer.

Then I topped it with OPI It's all Bright with me, which is a very sheer, almost colourless yellow based polish with just a hint of shimmer. 

And on top of that, I added China Glaze, Golden Enchantment. 

Thanks for looking.

Check back for more swatches, and new Girly Bits collections as well.

Cheers!

♥Pam♥

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Showdown! The battle of the greens.

The fall collections this year are full of beautiful colours, and army green seems to be a trend among a lot of different brands. The first two I picked up were from China Glaze-Westside Warrior, and OPI- Uh Oh Roll down the Window. I have often heard the question asking how these two compare to each other. So today, I have compared them for you, along with two other greens from my collection.

The four we will be comparing today are-

OPI Uh Oh Roll down the window

China Glaze Westside Warrior

Orly Enchanted Forest

Joe Fresh Moss ( this is a dupe for Zoya Shawn)

On with the show!

First up is the comparison most requested. This is OPI and China Glaze.

From left to right I have China Glaze WsW on my index and ring fingers, and OPI UORDTW on my middle and pinky fingers.

While they both have smooth application with no streaking or drag, Westside is noticeably more opaque and perhaps a little thicker. It's actually a one coater, where as Uh Oh definitely requires two, or even three coats.

Westside is darker, and a little less murky and less yellow. 

I can't say that I necessarily prefer one colour over the other, and I would say they are different enough to own both.

Here are the same polishes, just another view.

Please ignore the little cotton fuzz that was hitchin' a ride.

Here we have Westside on the index and ring fingers still, and ORLY Enchanted Forest on the middle and pinky fingers.

The Orly is darker and pulls more blue than Westside Warrior. Definitely a two coater. The first coat looks a little streaky but it evens out easily with the second coat.

Same polish placement again, different angle.

This one is Joe Fresh Moss on the index and ring fingers, and OPI Uh Oh on the middle and pinky fingers. Moss is a deeper darker colour, with yellow undertones like Uh Oh, but dark like Enchanted Forest. Moss has great application, very smooth, very pigmented. Not at opaque as the China Glaze, but with careful application you could get away with one coat.

The following three photos are all four polishes side by side.

Index Finger-OPI UhOh roll down the window

Middle Finger-China Glaze Westside Warrior

Ring Finger-Orly Enchanted Forest

Pinky Joe Fresh Moss

I hope this helps you out some, and doesn't confuse you further.

They are all gorgeous polishes, and any of them will have you right on trend for fall.

Thanks for looking!

♥pam♥

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China Glaze Metro Collection (part two) Urban Night, Loft-y Ambitions, Skyscraper, Street Chic

A few weeks ago I posted the first three of the China Glaze Metro Collection here
Today, I have four more from this collection, and as with the last ones, these are wonderful as well. The formula on all of them have been great, and I think there is a colour for everyone.

Urban Night

This is a deep plum with hints of red. A gorgeous fall colour! The application was good for me, with an easy two coats.

And you know how much I love Pure Ice Heartbreaker, so here it is!

One more with out heartbreaker just because its a great colour :)

...and with HB again

Street Chic

Street Chic is a midtone neutral brown.

Here I added some dots of Urban Night for interest.

Again, with dots of Urban Night and Westside Warrior

Loft-y Ambitions

This is a brick red/brown with a very subtle shimmer

Again, I added some dots for interest, using West Side Warrior, Street Chic, and I think I used Concrete Catwalk, although it looks kind of blue here.

Skyscraper

Gorgeous, sparkley deep blue jelly base with blue and silver microglitter.

Yum.

Surprisingly good application for this type of polish.

 

This is an outdoor shot, so you can see the sparkley goodness.

Hope you enjoyed the rest of these swatches. I may pick up the remaining colours later.

Thanks for looking.

♥pam♥

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China Glaze Metro Collection- Westside Warrior, Midtown Magic and Concrete Catwalk

I was very excited to see the new fall 2011Metro Collection by China Glaze out at the beauty supply!! I only picked up three, but wow am I impressed! I may go back for more. The formula on all three is exceptional. Smooth and highly pigmented. They are almost one coaters.

*EDIT* I  picked up a few more and you can find that post here

This is Concrete Catwalk. Dark grey. Gorgeous. Smooth. Love.

Concrete Catwalk with Heartbreaker by Pure Ice on top. I love Heartbreaker so much. It just makes everything magical.

Here we have Midtown Magic, and it is just that. Magic. It is a gorgeous deep red-based brown with gold and red micro-shimmer. It is sort of a warmer version of Color Club With Abandon, but it has WAY better application. Below is a comparison.

With Abandon is a cooler more ashy black based colour, and Midtown Magic is warm brown. 

Midtown Magic again, with top coat.

The shimmer is just gorgeous!

Westside Warrior is a khaki green. Slightly yellow based, but not so much that it makes my hands look red.

Perfect colour for a camouflage design mani.

This is in the direct sunlight.

China Glaze Westside Warrior with Tarnished Gold crackle on top, and top coat.

Here I topped Westside Warrior with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure on the pinky and ring fingers, and Orly Amp'd on the middle and index fingers.

And lastly I tried Fairy Dust by China Glaze over Concrete Catwalk. It was ok, but not my favourite. CC it fabulous all on its own.

This collection gets an A+ from me, although I am not ready to wear fall colours yet. :)

thanks for looking.

♥pam♥

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