Blue Glitter Gradient with Darling Diva Beautiful and Julep Eliana

Hi everyone! I’m still having some pretty terrible computer problems that have been draining away my patience for nail art, but I still wanted to post something so here goes! Today I have a simple gradient using a glitter polish named Beautiful by Darling Diva over a moody blue base (Julep Eliana). I chose the Darling Diva polish out of a selection on Llarowe because I liked the mix of turquoise, copper, and white glitter a lot (also it was on sale). Since my nail polish collection is not big on glitters, let alone indie glitters, I think it makes a good addition to my stash. Putting it over Julep Eliana – a medium-dark denim blue crème – suited it quite nicely; I find the result quite appealing.

Julep Metamorphic Topcoat Combo – Tilda and Mae

Hi everyone! I’ve been having some technology issues recently that have been delaying me in posting, but, not to worry, I’ve still got stuff to write about! Today I have a quick post about one of the metamorphic topcoats that Julep released this month – Tilda (the green one) – and its polish soulmate Julep Mae. In the January Maven boxes, Julep added one of three free “metamorphic topcoats” that are supposed to transform whatever other color you put them over into something more fabulous. If you recall from my last post, the random metamorphic topcoat that came in my box was actually Tyra (the pink one), but I wasn’t all that jazzed about it. So, thanks to the magic of the internet, I was able to obtain a bottle of Tilda, which I find much more exciting! My experience with Tyra led me to believe that there was probably some magic combination out there that would be truly transforming, and I’m happy to report that I found it! Julep Mae and Tilda were meant to be together because, combined, they make this incredibly ethereal manicure. So perfect!

Julep January 2015 Swatches, Comparisons, and Nail Art

Hi everyone! Today I have a ginormous post about my picks from the Julep January 2015 Collection (Chrysalis), so get ready! This time around, I went with the It Girl box and added on two polishes – Luna (the featured add-on) and Phyllis (Classic with a Twist) – plus I got one of the metamorphic topcoats (Tyra, the pink one) they put in if you signed up to get one. That’s six polishes in total that I’m going to write about in this post, which is a new record for me! As usual, I’ve swatched all the colors, done a few comparisons, and used four of the colors to make “chrysalis”-inspired nail art!

This month, Julep decided to do something new in line with their increasing emphasis on beauty products, which was to put two products and one polish in three of the main boxes (Boho Glam, Bombshell, and Classic with a Twist) this month instead of two polishes and one product. Since I subscribe to Julep mainly for the nail polish, and I’m not in the My Maven customization program, this new way of doing things isn’t what I want at all. It’s pretty clear that, by making it less attractive to stay in the original program, this move is probably part of Julep’s push towards getting everyone into My Maven. I must say, it is working; I’m seriously thinking about switching over to the program. We’ll see! Anyways, read on to see all the polishes!

Reflection Post: My Right Hand (Cinderella Hand)

Hi everyone! I thought I’d take a look back today at the pictures I have of my dominant hand, which usually isn’t seen on the blog. As you can probably tell, I am right-handed, and so almost all of the pictures I take and post on the blog are of my non-dominant left hand. Obviously, this is because it’s easier for me to paint and photograph my left hand than my right. All the same, I usually do the same nail design on my right hand because I wear my manicures for on average around five days, and it would bother me if my hands looked significantly different from each other. If I did a really difficult design on my right hand, then I’ll take a picture of it as some sort of “proof” of my triumph. Over time, I’ve collected a bunch of these pictures and now have enough of them to post. I’ve decided to show them side-by-side with my left hand so you can see the differences.

I’ve heard that some nail bloggers refer to their dominant hand as their “Cinderella hand” because it does all of the work and gets none of the glory. Well, here today, my Cinderella hand can get the glory it deserves!

Blog Readership Polls!

Hi everyone! Today, instead of a nail art post, I’d like to hear from all of you lovely readers! I was thinking about where I’d like to go with my blog in the future (and have lots of ideas!) but I’m not sure what you would be interested in seeing. So I made a couple of polls in the hopes that you’ll answer them, and I can get feedback on what to do. Please take the time to answer; it would really help me a lot! Of course, if you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments!

SquareHue January 2015 Swatches, Comparisons, and Nail Art

Hi everyone! Today I have the SquareHue January 2015 box to share on the blog, complete with swatches, color comparisons, and some nail art! This year, SquareHue is going with a “decades” theme, with each month’s colors representing a decade from the 1900s to the 2010s, and I’m pretty excited for the whole thing. The colors I’ve gotten from SquareHue in the past two months have really inspired me in terms of nail art; it’s a fun challenge for me to take the colors and figure out a good way to combine them, especially since they’re totally random. Given my excitement about the upcoming SquareHue Decades Collection, I’ve decided to continue with them for the indefinite future, and my SquareHue box will be a monthly installment on the blog.

January’s box was inspired by the 1900s and contains some really lovely polishes. Unlike the previous two months’ boxes, which contained some rather offbeat colors, this collection is rather conservative and demure in terms of both colors and finishes. Although I initially subscribed to SquareHue for their unconventionality, I absolutely adore the toned-down elegance of this bunch of polishes, and I’m really happy with this box. With the 1900s as the theme of the collection, I used the three polishes to create some classic-looking floral nail art – inspired by Robin Moses – that reminds me of flowery Victorian era patterns.

Blue Morpho Butterfly Nail Art for Thyroid Disease Awareness Month

Hi everyone! I’M BACK! With new content 🙂 The end of my vacation means that I got back to my polish stash and tools, and now can get around to all the nail art I’ve been dreaming about! I decided to begin with this manicure, which was inspired by a very deserving cause.

During my vacation, fellow Instagrammer @citruseyes sent out an invitation to do a nail art collaboration in honor of Thyroid Disease Awarness Month, which is January, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to participate! Thyroid disease is very pervasive in my family, and so this is a cause that is especially important to me personally and that I feel deserves more awareness. My manicure was inspired by some symbols used to represent Thyroid Disease Awareness (TDA) – butterflies and the blue awareness ribbon – and is dedicated to my mom, who is affected by thyroid disease (and also loves butterflies!).

Swatch – Julep Kathy

Hi everyone! This is going to be my last vacation post! I’m excited to get some new content going, once I am reunited with my stash, and to move forward with my New Year’s Resolutions! But before I move on to new stuff, I have a swatch of the first polish I wore during my vacation: Julep Kathy. This is the only polish I have to show you from my vacation, since I had the opportunity to take photos of it before my vacation started. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get good photos of the other stuff I had on due to bad lighting and general holiday busyness.

Anyways, Julep Kathy is a lovely polish consisting of this magical iridescent golden fleck glitter that really “glows”. I’m glad I picked it to kick off my vacation, since its golden tone and luminescent quality do remind me of winter and holiday festivities. All the same, I think this polish would be fantastic year-round, and I’m glad I have it in my collection.

New Year’s Nail Polish Resolutions

Hi everyone! It’s still my vacation, so this is a scheduled post. Nevertheless, I wanted to say that I hope you all are as psyched for the new year as I am! Bring it on 2015! To kick off the new year, I decided to make a list of New Year’s resolutions since I feel it’s time to get going on some personal stuff that’s been bogging me down. The past autumn was incredibly grueling for me, and I don’t want to carry on like that for an entire year. So I’m consciously going to make things better for myself, or try to, with my list!

You’re probably thinking: why is she writing this on a nail blog? Well, I got so into the list-making that I decided to make a New Year’s resolutions list specifically relating to nail polish! Basically, it’s a list of what I want to do with my nail polish in the coming year. I’m absolutely open to any requests that you readers may have for me as to things you would like to see me do in the future, so let me know in the comments or email me (emismanis@gmail.com) if you have any suggestions/feedback for me. I’d love to hear from you! Really, I would. I get super excited when someone comments on my blog! Please do!