Swatches – Carpe Noctem Clear Skies and Interstellar Towel

Hi everyone! I’m still here – yes, I am! So…ummm…I’ve been away for a while… A combination of various factors ended up keeping me away from my blog for a month and a half, the biggest one being that I’ve been putting in a lot more time at work. Usually when I come home on weekdays, I’m too tired to paint my nails at all, let alone do nail art. Also, I shifted my spare time towards another creative hobby of mine – sewing – so that I could complete a gorgeous new Renaissance costume for this year’s faire (which is AWESOME). But, yeah, I’ve been away from my blog for a while, which isn’t something I wanted to happen. Hopefully I can get back into blogging more frequently now that I’m not doing as much sewing, and I can eventually move through the backlog of things I’ve wanted to write about (especially the subscription boxes!).

Before I get around to the subscription box posts, though, I thought I’d post some swatches of a few polishes I wore recently by an indie brand named Carpe Noctem Cosmetics. I don’t exactly remember how Carpe Noctem first came to my attention, but I somehow found their Etsy shop and I liked a number of polishes they had and placed an order. They have some gorgeous holographics and shimmers, and the best part is that they offer multiple sizes of the same colors so you can buy smaller (and less expensive) bottles if you want! Since I have photos of some of the polishes I’ve worn, I thought I’d share them: here are Carpe Noctem Clear Skies and Interstellar Towel!

Swatch – Rainbow Honey Tera Flare

Hi everyone! Before I get into the nail polish stuff for today, how do you like my new layout? I thought it was about time for my blog to get a makeover, so I changed the theme to make it prettier and more modern. To be honest, I chose my blog’s old theme because it put my content in the right places, but I never really liked the look of it. This new theme definitely has the “form factor” that the old one didn’t, and it still keeps all my content where I want it. Win-win! I’m still working on making it perfect, so expect a few changes as I keep improving things.

Anyhow, today’s post is a swatch of Tera Flare by Rainbow Honey, which is a really unique polish that I am quite fond of. It features silver holographic square glitter and tiny turquoise hex glitter in a black base with a little bit of blue shimmer. That’s kind of a confusing description, but this polish does have a lot of different elements to it. It was SO worth wearing this polish by itself – it’s truly mesmerizing to behold.

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!).

Disney Series – Minnie Mouse Inspired French Tips

Hi everyone! Today I’m starting a series of Disney-inspired manicures, which I am creating in anticipation of an upcoming trip that my friends and I are taking to Disneyland!! YAY!!! So excited! For the trip, I agreed to give each one of my friends coming on the trip a unique manicure inspired by a Disney character, hence the “series” aspect. This first design in the series is inspired by Minnie Mouse, and was originally my friend Kimi’s idea. The design is inspired by Minnie Mouse’s classic red and white polka-dotted outfit, complete with a bow. It is SOOOO adorable, and I love the classic color combo. I like that it is subtle, chic, and wearable rather than wild and crazy.