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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Pink Pedicure Wednesday

What is this!?!? a normal blog post?
*blinking eyes*
Yes! A blog post.
Wow, I miss blogging. A lot.
However, as much as I have requested an extension, there still seems to be only 24 hours in a day. I would even settle for a few extra days in a week. =)

Yesterday, I did a cute pedi on a customer, so I thought I would share. So yes this is cheating a little, but it's still my work, and it fits with the pink Wednesday theme.

For the base coat I used  OPI Shorts Story- which for the record is one of my all time favourite pinks.
You can see my post with it alone, and with Connect the Dots HERE
One of my fave mani's actually.

On top of two coats of Shorts Story, I did a row of dots on each big toe, using Sinful Snow me White, OPI Pink Friday, Zoya Dana, and OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries.

Hope you like it!

Thanks for looking.

♥Pam♥

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Lynnderella Connect the Dots over OPI Shorts Story

A mere few months ago, I was a Lynnderella virgin. I am now a die hard fan. Every polish she comes out with is seriously gorgeous, and usually even more gorgeous in real life than in the (millions of) swatches you will find on line. The complexity of each polish, while it may seem random, is actually very well thought out, and in my opinion shows Lynn's deep understanding of the use of colour.

We seem to be in a glitter trend at the moment, and I will admit, I was never a huge fan of glitter until fairly recently. I always loved it on everyone else, but was often not thrilled with it on myself. Part of the reason may have been the pain in the rumpus removal. If you find yourself struggling with removal, you must give the foil method a try. I promise you, you will look at glitters through different eyes. You can find my information on glitter removal with the foil method by clicking here. Trust me, you will thank me =)
Part of the beauty of glitter, other than the obvious, is that most can be worn over lots of different colours, for different effects.
Another favourite use of mine for glitters, is making a jelly sandwich. I particularly like this because it gives you a less in your face glitter. If you are not familiar with a jelly sandwich, it uses a glitter and a jelly polish -which is a rather sheer creme, with a deep sort of translucent finish to it. Similar to Jello. It has colour, but is sort of see though, and looks deep and sort of squishy. You  want to layer the glitter in between two layers of the jelly polish. Hence the name Jelly Sandwich.  Start with your favourite base coat, treatment or ridge filler, then the idea is to lay down a base coat of the jelly polish (which for the record, is not actually labeled as a 'jelly', but rather identified as a jelly finish by lacquer enthusiasts. Good examples are the pinks and oranges from the OPI Texas collection) On top of your first coat of polish, you add a coat of a glitter. I find the chunkier glitters work the best, and especially silver ones. After that has dried for a few minutes, you add another coat of the jelly polish, which is sheer enough that you can see the glitter through it, but because the polish is sheer, it gives the effect of the glitter swimming in a pool of colour, rather than being right on top and in your face. Click here to see a good example of a jelly sandwich on Noelie's Nails.
Of course you want to use a nice shiny top coat for even more jelly squishy goodness. 

Back to the original post topic- Lynnderella Connect the Dots. This is the most unique colour in her collections, in my opinion. There is nothing else like it on the market. It's not your typical blingy sparkly glitter, but rather simply black and white, in a sparkling base. It looks best over creams, and almost gives the illusion of nail art. If you are a Lynnderella virgin, and are contemplating getting some but aren't sure which to get- I would highly recommend Connect the Dots. It's an easy application, and easy removal. And always stunning.

This time, I layered it over pink- OPI Shorts Story, which is one of my favourite pink cremes.

 

I will admit, that when I first saw Connect the Dots a few years ago, I did not see the appeal. I bought it, and NOW I get it. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this is one of the few, that I think actually look better to the eye, at a normal distance rather than a macro shot.  The macro shots of most Lynnderellas are mesmerizing, and while I appreciate this one as well, I like the look in real life, better than pictures. Just get it. You won't regret it.

 

And the obligatory bottle shot.

Lynnderellas are now available exclusively on Llarowe

I do want to add, that while Lynnderella sales on Llarowe may be run in short spurts, to allow for timely shipping, there is no need to panic. She will be very well stocked with them, and if you miss out on one sale, there will be other opportunities to buy. I can assure you that Leah Ann is the most dedicated person I know, and she is doing everything in her power to please everyone. Good things come to those who wait, I promise.

Thanks for looking!

♥Pam♥

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OPI Glacier Bay Blues and Color Club Sugar Plum Yum

 Just a quick post today- but I really wanted to show you the super yumminess that is happening on my nails right now. First up is OPI Glacier Bay Blues which is a deep blue with a very slight dupchrome of purple and green. It is far more present in the bottle than it is on the nail, but it is still very pretty! I managed to buy this recently, and I am so glad to be able to knock it off my wish list. I applied one thin coat and one thicker coat. It can be a little patchy, so if you do thin coats you  might need three. The dry time was good though, so no worries.

You can see the purple a little better in this picture.

After admiring this alone for while, I decided to top it off with Color Club Sugar Plum Yum.

It has different sizes of green and purple glitter  in a clear base.

I love the way this looks over Glacier Bay Blues! It's got more sparkle in real life, and is quite appropriate for the holiday season.

I never used to be a fan of chunkier glitters, but lately I am really enjoying them.

Are you a fan of glitter? If so, what are your favourite types? Ones that are meant to layer over another colour, or ones that are meant to give full coverage? Do you prefer fine or chunky glitter?

 Keep an eye out for new Girly Bits colours, coming soon.

It's been a productive week in the polish lab.

Thanks for looking!!

♥Pam♥

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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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Pumpkin by Icing, and black shatter

A few days ago I showed you an amazing orange glitter with superfantastical bling-o-rama going on here.
This is the same colour, with OPI Black Shatter on top. I was going for something sort of Halloween-ish with the black and orange, and I guess it's ok, but it's a shame to cover up the amazing glitter. I dabbed the shatter polish on and swiped it back and forth across the nail instead of the typical swiping motion used to apply polish. This causes the polish to shatter in a more random pattern. You can apply shatter in all different ways to achieve a different look. No matter how you do it, you  just have to be fast, and try not to go over the same spot twice.

Here is a pic of it before I applied the top coat. It makes it look a little charred, which I guess is appropriate for Halloween.

Thanks for looking!

♥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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OPI Uh Oh Roll Down the Window. Touring America Collection

 I seem to be particularly drawn to most fall collections-with their usual classy dark shades, and vampy sexy blackened colours. This years fall collection by OPI-Touring America falls right into the category of classy and dark. There are several murky earthy colours, and a few with some zing.
Today I am showing you the one that I was most drawn to- Uh Oh Roll Down the Window. It's a murky army green, that leans a little more on the yellow/gray side than it's cousin Westside Warrior by China Glaze which is just a tad darker. Both are gorgeous, with great application.

And a little simple nail art using a gold nail art pen from Icing.

Thanks for looking!

♥pam♥

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OPI Bright Lights, Big Color

I don't have a huge selection of oranges in my collection (relative to the other colours that is) not for lacking love for the colour but rather, I seem to like it on other people better. There are a few though, that I do really love and this is one of them. This is Bright Lights Big Color from the Summer Brights Collection, 2005.

It's a beautiful juicy orange/pink/coral colour with a golden peachy shimmer to it that makes it more wearable for those are perhaps orange-shy.

Application was easy and smooth.

Thanks for looking!

♥Pam♥

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OPI Espresso Your Style, and Gold Shatter

Good Morning lovely readers! I have been thinking of all of you that may have been affected in one way or another by hurricane Irene. I hope this finds you well and safe and relatively dry. I do not live in a hurricane zone, and we have had really good weather. It's hard to imagine that while skies are blue here, there is an angry storm to the East unleashing her fury on innocent people. I expect we will see the tail end of it here with a few days of rain by the weekend. We are relatively unaffected by most natural disasters in this area, although this year has brought more tornadoes, and hail than I have ever seen in my life, and we have felt two earthquakes as well. By 'feel' I mean I could feel my couch swaying and see my bird feeder swinging. In no way were we ever at risk of any damage here at all. If I had not been sitting still chances are I would not have felt it at all. I really feel for all of you who deal with unsettled Earth on a regular basis.

I swatched OPI Espresso Your Style for a friend of mine, so I decided to show you as well. It is a beautiful rich deep warm brown with a lovely gold shimmer/microglitter. This was three coats, but I admit I was in a bit of a hurry so if I had been more careful I might have been able to get away with two.

 Espresso Your Style was originally released in the Kick up Your Heels collection in 2006, which I believe was a black label. Mine is from the re-release and is a green label.

This was taken outside.

I decided to throw my new OPI Gold Shatter over top just for fun.

Gold Shatter is pretty, and I can't wait to try it over other colours. It didn't shatter well here so I will have to experiment with it over completely dry polish vs slightly tacky polish.

Thanks for looking!

♥pam♥

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