Half Moon Mani

Today I am going to share the half moon mani I did for my Mom recently. I used Zoya polishes for this mani because honestly I LOVE their formula and I've used these colors before so that I knew application would be easy, I already knew what to expect from them and they performed just as expected.

I started out with a coat of Zoya Trixie for the base. Then once it was dry I applied these little circle reinforcement labels to the lower portion of her nails because this is the area that I do not want painted when I apply the next color. You have to wait until your base coat is dry otherwise when you peel them off they will take the base color with them. And make sure that you are sure they are dry cause I learned the hard way that the base coat wasn't fully dry.

Then I used Zoya Mia and painted over the base coat above the circles, using them as a guide, and immediately removed them so that I had a nice clean line. Then once they were slightly dry I added a top coat of Out The Door to protect and speed dry them for my Mom.

I am slowly getting her to venture out and try new designs and this one with Trixie as the base or half moon was a new thing for her. I wasn't too sure I'd get her to agree to the silver but when I assured her that it wouldn't be on her whole nail showing she allowed it, lol. I'm still working on getting her to let me try something with black, I promised I just use it sparingly and hopefully the next one I show you of hers will have a little black in it. :)

Striped Nail Art

So today I did a little striped nail art with some striping tape and textured polishes. It is so cute and fun that I wanted to share it with all of you!

I started out with a base of Zoya Purity on the nails that I was going to be doing the nail art on. Once that was dry I applied my striping tape in the design that I wanted.

When I was satisfied with the placement of my striping tape I then polished over the entire nail (striping tape too) with China Glaze Texture in Itty, Bitty, & Gritty. I applied 2 coats to the nails. I love this color so much! It's such a bright and cheery coral color and I am sooooo in love with the textured polishes.

Then instead of waiting for it to dry I immediately and very carefully peeled off my striping tape, thus revealing my base color of Zoya Purity. As you will see doing this with the textured polishes doesn't always end up with clean lines but that's ok because nothing is perfect (no matter how much I want it to be, lol).

I then applied the China Glaze Itty, Bitty, & Gritty to the remaining nails and waited for everything to dry! Dry time is average and application was a breeze! I think that it turned out pretty good and am already planning my next striping tape mani!! Hope you all enjoyed this! :)

OPI I Theodora You

NOTD OPI Liquid Sands

So for my NOTD I decided to go somewhat simple but wanted some bling. I thought I'd finally use my OPI Liquid Sands for a mani. Plus I had to shorten my nails due to a bad break and thought this is a nice color combination for some nubs like mine. I have to say that next to the Zoya Pixie Dusts these are my next favorite textured polishes. They applied smoothly and dried in average time.

I applied Pussy Galore to my thumb, pointer finger, and pinky finger. Pussy Galore is a light pink, almost a baby pink with pink micro glitter embedded in the texture. This is two coats of Pussy Galore. This is a very girly color and perfect for what I was going for.

Next I applied Solitaire to my middle finger. Solitaire is a pearly white with silver micro glitter embedded in the texture. This one also applied smoothly with no problems at all. It also dried within average time. I am so glad I picked this one up because I have so much I can do with a white textured polish and can't wait to experiment. This is 3 coats of Solitaire.

I then wanted some bling but not too much so I applied Butter London Fairy Cake to my ring finger for an accent. I think that it brings a certain something to this manicure. This is 3 coats of Fairy Cake with a topcoat of Out The Door for shine and to smooth it out.

I hope you all like my NOTD cause I do and I look forward to showing you what I have next. Stay tuned!

Pretty and Polished Moving Sale!!

Hey everyone, Pretty and Polished is having a HUGE moving sale! Go on over to www.shopprettyandpolished.com and buy something or go to their facebook page here to keep up to date on the sale!!

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat-Cherry Drop

While I was out shopping at my local Ulta store I ran across the display for the new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polishes. They were pretty picked over and only had like 2 colors left out of the collection. I chose this one. It is called Cherry Drop. It is a cherry red textured polish. All pictures were taken indoors with flash and I used 2 coats with a base coat and no topcoat. 

In my opinion the Sugar Coat polishes are very similar to the China Glaze Texture polishes in texture. It dries to a "concrete" like finish. There is no glitter for the sparkle. I did notice that this one is a little "scratchier" than the other textured polishes out there but nothing too bad. Once you have a day of wear, the edges weren't scratchy anymore. Application was a breeze and dry time was average with a textured polish. I did use a base coat with these and found that even with a base coat I had some staining but that is kind of average for me with colors like this.
 

Overall I think these are not bad and they are definitely budget friendly for those who are on a tight budget like most people are. I'm kinda undecided about them, maybe with some more wear and hopefully getting to try out more from this line, I will change my mind. I love the color and the other colors that Sally Hansen has for Sugar Coats, I wish I could have gotten my hands on a few more of the colors. I love that Sally Hansen is getting into the trends and keeping up with what is hot this season. That is something that I don't see all too often in a budget friendly brand. I tip my hat to them!

Sally Hansen polishes can be purchased at most drug stores, WalMart, Target, Ulta, and some beauty supply stores. You can find these just about anywhere. This one was $5.99 for a .4fl oz bottle. This is slightly smaller than most full size polishes but only by .1fl oz so it isn't noticeable at all.

Argyle Nails

I am going to show you a little nail art that I did on my sister recently. I seen a tutorial of argyle nails online and thought I would give it a try. I will admit that I was totally wishing my new brushes had arrived for this cause I think it would have turned out better with neater, cleaner lines and would have probably been easier to use the appropriate sized brushes for this. I had to make due with what I had on hand. This is also my first ever attempt at something like this so I was quite pleased with the results considering.


I started out with a base of Zoya Carmen and let it dry.

Then using a striping brush I made an "X" on the nail and filled in the top and bottom triangles. I used Zoya Purity for this step.

Then once the white was dry I used that same striping brush (after cleaning it of course) to paint 4 diagonal lines as you see here. I used Zoya Raven for this step.

Then once it was all dry I topped it all off with a coat of Out The Door to add shine and protection. I think considering this was my first ever attempt and it was about 10pm by the time we finished (we got started pretty late and of course there was dry time in between steps) this turned out pretty cute. I am totally going to try this again and I'm so happy my sister loved her nails (she had a date the next night so now she added fabulous nails to what I'm sure was a fabulous outfit for her date)! :)

Textured Polishes Compared

I thought I would do a little comparison post between the different textured polish brands that are out there. I am going to compare the OPI Liquid Sands, Zoya Pixie Dusts, and the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in this post. The picture above was taken right after application so you can see that they are still wet and haven't dried to their "textured" finish.

I have from thumb to pinky: Zoya Pixie Dust in Stevie, OPI Magazine Cover Mouse Liquid Sand, OPI Solitaire Liquid Sand, again Zoya Pixie Dust Stevie, and Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Cherry Drop. The OPI and Zoyas both have glitter in them to give them that sparkle that everyone loves so much. The Sally Hansen has no glitter and is just a textured finish, similar to the China Glaze Texture collection.

The OPI and Zoyas have a smooth "beach sand" like finish to the touch and the Sally Hansen has a rougher texture kind of like concrete. I found that the OPI and the Sally Hansen both collected dirt on the surface of them over time but the Zoya looked as fabulous as the moment I put it on and it was dry. Removal on all of these was the same. I use a cotton ball soaked with acetone and then apply it to the nail and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I simply wipe it off from cuticle to end and it nearly all comes off in one swipe. You just have to go along the edges and grab the very little bit that didn't come off in the one swipe.

I would have to say that if I had to rank them from my favorite on down I would put the Zoya Pixie Dusts at the top being my absolute favorite, then the OPI Liquid Sands come in second, the China Glaze Textures (not pictured) next, and my least favorite were the Sally Hanse Sugar Coat. My reasoning for putting the Sugar Coats as my least favorite was simply because it stained the worst and collected the most dirt and grime.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did creating it and I hope that it provided you with all the information you wanted. :)

My First Giveaway!!!

MIDWEST LACQUERED MOMMA'S FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

I am so excited to be having my first giveaway! I can't thank everyone enough for following me and supporting me so this is the way I am going to say thanks. I am giving away 2 prize packs for this first giveaway. In each prize pack there will be a few polishes from brands like Sinful Colors, Essie, Orly, Wet-n-Wild, and whatever else I pick up along the way (all polishes will be brand new). There may also be fun things like nail files, nail stickers, or something for doing some nail art. Each prize pack will be different and they will not contain the same polishes or items. US only for this one, sorry. Contest ends on July 4th and I will have rafflecopter pick the winners. It's gonna be a mystery! How fun is that?!! Please enter and enjoy!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway by Dr. Poison Ivy's Beauty Blog

Click the link to check it out!! http://drpoisonivy.blogspot.in/2013/06/2nd-year-blog-anniversary-jumbo-giveaway.html

Cult Nails Enticing

Today I have Cult Nails Enticing for you. Enticing is a sheer baby pink cream. I think this is great for when you want something light, conservative, and it would even work great as undies for some glitters. I absolutely love Cult Nails, they are a 4 free formula and cruelty free. They even package their lacquers in recycled, reusable materials. They truly care about the environment and I really love their company.

The formula on all the Cult Nails lacquers is amazing and it goes on so smooth. I cannot say enough about how much I love their lacquers and how great their formula is. For these pics I used 3 coats and as you can see it is still somewhat sheer. If I had to choose my favorite polishes I would say that Cult Nails would be at the top of the list!

All Cult Nails lacquers can be purchased exclusively through their website. The have so many great colors you have to check them out! They are also going to be releasing their newest collection in about a week or so. I am so excited to hopefully get some!

Cult Nails Kiss My Rose Bush nail art

Today I am going to show you the latest mani I did for my Mom. She asked for something simple yet elegant. This is what I came up with.

I started out with a base of Cult Nails Kiss My Rose Bush from their In The Garden collection. I absolutely love this color and love that it is a wax finish so you can sport a different look if you add a top coat or leave it as the wax finish and have another look.

Once it was dry I added three dots down the side of her nails in a random gold glitter. Then I let the dots dry before I added a topcoat of Out The Door. I tried to convince her to leave it with the wax finish but Mom is a little hesitant to embrace the new finishes, lol. I've also been trying to get her to try my Zoya Pixie Dusts and China Glaze Textures but she hasn't caved yet. One of these days I will also get her to try a black (maybe just as an accent nail to start)!

Cult Nails can be purchased through their website. They are $12 for a full size .5fl oz and they are worth every penny!!

Zoya Trixie & Lola

Today I am sporting this fun and bright mani. I was looking for something bright but unique and this is what I came up with.

I started out with a base of Zoya Lola (hot pink with a opalescent glow) and added 2 accent nails of Zoya Trixie (a silver metallic). I used 3 coats of Lola to get my desired opacity since it is a little sheer and 2 coats of Trixie was all I needed.

Then to be fun I added a coat of Hard Candy Black Tie Optional to the Trixie accent nails. I think that this black and white glitter (black and white different sized hex glitters and bar glitters) is such a fun one to have. I use this one more than I ever thought I would and may have to hit my local WalMart for a back up bottle before I run out. My sisters even love this one so I may pick up a few and gift them out. I think everyone should have this in their collection.

Then once things were somewhat dry I added a couple coats of Out The Door to protect and add shine.

Hard Candy can be purchased at WalMart and Zoya can be purchased through their website, select salons, and Ulta stores.

***PRESS RELEASE***Fall 2013 Pixie Dusts

Check out these new Pixie Dusts coming out for Fall 2013!!!

Sinful Colors Sugar & Spice nail art

Today I have a bit of pinky, bright, fun nail art for you. I thought this would be a nice way to brighten my mood since it has been so unusually cool for this time of year and raining the almost the past week.

I started off with a base of Sinful Colors Sugar & Spice

Then I used Cult Nails Kiss My Rose Bush and Orly French White for the dots. I used several different sizes of dotting tools to make different sized dots.

Then once the dots were dry I added a topcoat of Out The Door to add shine and protection.


This photo is after a few days of wear and I wanted you to see that I don't have any chips and almost no tip wear. The tip wear is so minimal that you can't even see it in the pics.

Sinful Colors polishes can be purchased at Walgreens and some WalMarts. Cult Nails can be purchased through their website. Orly was purchased at our local Sally's Beauty Supply.