SquareHue August 2015 Swatches, Comparisons, and Nail Art

Hi everyone! Today I’ve got my SquareHue August 2015 box (the 1970s) to show off on the blog…most of the way through October! I wasn’t able to get around to this post in the past few months because I have been quite overwhelmed by work and life. But nevertheless, I couldn’t NOT do a SquareHue box post! So here it is: the SquareHue 1970s collection!

SquareHue August 2015 Nail Art Disco Circles 6

SquareHue August 2015 Swatches Composite Continue reading

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!).

Carpe Noctem Clear Skies Swatch 6

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!

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Interstellar Towel Swatch 6 Continue reading

Julep August 2015 Swatches, Comparisons, and Nail Art

Hi everyone! Today I’ve got my picks from the Julep August 2015 Collection (Muse Montreal) to show off on the blog! I know it’s been a while since my last post (and it’s no longer August), but I thought I should write my August subscription box posts eventually. Seriously, I feel like I’ve been fighting exhaustion all the time now that my commute is now 2 hours every day instead of 5 minutes. Lesson learned: if you can help it, don’t move an hour away from work.

Julep August 2015 Nail Art Mix and Match 6

Anyways, I almost didn’t take a box this month because I just wasn’t feeling the particular polishes that made up the collection, despite the fact that I liked the color palette overall. While I eventually convinced myself to take a box using up some of my store credit, I don’t think I chose very well and ended up disappointed with most of my selections. The plus side of taking a box, though, was that I received a set of super fun metallic temporary tattoos as a freebie and I LOVED them! I’d been contemplating getting a set before, and Julep sent some for free! So I used them to create some cute, geometric mix-and-match nail art.

Julep August 2015 Maven Swatches Composite Continue reading

Swatch – Enchanted Polish Daydream

Hi everyone! While I’m busy preparing my subscription box posts for the month, in the meantime, I have a swatch of Enchanted Polish Daydream to show off on the blog. Enchanted Polish is an indie brand with a cult-like following around it that is so intense, it is only possible to purchase bottles within a few hours every couple of weeks or from resellers. Up until now, I hadn’t bought into the hype surrounding the brand because I hadn’t seen anything from them that I felt was worth the expense and the difficulty. But then I saw pictures of Daydream and I was so smitten that I eventually bought a bottle from a reseller at a fairly reasonable price. And so, without further ado, I now present a swatch of the most expensive nail polish I own!

Enchanted Polish Daydream Swatch 6 Continue reading

Moving Update

Hi everyone! I’m finally back! Unfortunately, it’s over a week later than I thought I would be, but moving was more stressful than I anticipated. I had a lovely vacation (during which I turned one year older), and I’m now settled into my new place! Thanks to my awesome family who helped me move into my new apartment – a task of Herculean proportions – I am now living in a sweet little place with lovely views in a quiet-ish neighborhood. Moving into my fourth floor walk-up apartment was an extremely difficult task that tired my body out big time, and the process of moving and unpacking was very mentally tiring as well. But I have calmed down now, recovered most of my misplaced valuables, and am ready to get back into blogging!

I don’t really have a coherent theme for this post, so I titled it “Moving Update” since that’s kind of what’s going on here. Continue reading

Swatch – Glitter Gal Love Bite

Hi everyone! I have a quick swatch for you today of a GORGEOUS red holographic nail polish by Glitter Gal called Love Bite. I chose this polish to wear for a bit because I was feeling in the mood for red polish, and wanted something “special”; this one definitely fits the bill! The particular medium, warm red of this polish really suits my skintone and the strong holographic effect is just so mesmerizing – I love it!

Glitter Gal Love Bite Swatch Continue reading

Swatch – Girly Bits More Cowbell

Hi everyone! I am still on vacation over the winter holidays, but wanted to put out a scheduled post since I don’t want my blog to be completely silent for two weeks! This is a swatch of Girly Bits More Cowbell: a muted aqua holographic polish with small flecks of blue microglitter that peek through the base color. It’s so gorgeous! And it looks rather nice as a wintery, ice princess polish. Other than the pretty color, I picked out this “More Cowbell” polish because it’s named after my dad’s all-time favorite Saturday Night Live skit – obviously it was a must-have for me!

Girly Bits More Cowbell Swatch Continue reading

My Favorite Things Series – Minty Star Scarf with Julep

Hi everyone! Today I’m starting a new series of nail art designs inspired by the beautiful patterns of some of my favorite things (hence the title of this post). Yesterday I was looking at my list of manicure ideas – I keep one on my phone so I don’t forget anything – and I realized that at least four of the ideas were inspired by stuff I own. So I’m making it a whole series!

The first design is based off of one of my favorite scarves, which is a bright minty/aqua green color with some metallic silver stars of various sizes scattered all over it. I bought this particular scarf at Nordstrom Rack several months ago, and I remember it being inexpensive. Not super insulating, but it helps keep me a little warmer. And, of course, it’s pretty and shiny 🙂

Minty Scarf Continue reading