BMC Hawaiian Escape Collection - Gel polish swatches

Hello my friends! It's been too long, I know. Life got really busy for a while and I just didn't take the time to do nice photo shoots of my nail art and write about it. I apologize. I will try to do better in the future. Near future. :-)

But, for today, I have the honor of swatching this gorgeous collection by Bundle Monster. It's called the Hawaiian Escape Collection. It's a gel polish and has grains of colored sand in it! It is super unique and the colors are really gorgeous!

I found the formula to be a little thick and since my nail beds are so small the thicker brushes made application a little messy. So, I decided to thin it down a little with a gel thinner and had much better luck. I used two coats for each swatch so it didn't get too think on my nails. The coverage was awesome with those 2 coats. I cured for 30 seconds each coat.

On to the colors! Yay!!! You won't be disappointed.

This is Guava Drop. Its a sheer fuchsia with purple, pink and white sand. Super cute color! 

This is called Papaya Passion. So, I am NOT a orange lover. My skin is too orange and it usually looks just yuck on me, but I really liked this one! The pastel orange with the red sand in this one really makes it pop. 

Lilikoi Lover is the name of this pastel yellow with pale orange sand. I have no idea what the name means, but I adore the color. It's so bright and cheery! 

Poha Picker is a gorgeous color!!! I love it. It is my 2nd favorite in this collection. It's a gorgeous teal

with blue and yellow sand. 

This cream white gel with orange sand is called Coco-nutty. Such a cute name! I like this color too. It is very delicate and subtle.

And the last color in the collection is also my favorite. It's a brilliant pastel purple  with dark blue sand. Oh I love this color. It's called, Kula Lavender. Very fitting name.

Which color is your favorite? Would you add these gels to your collection?

Because of the sand, there is some texture. But when you use your topcoat, the manicure is smooth to the touch and look. 

You can get the set here or even just purchase your favorite! 

SO, since it is so close to Easter, when I was doing the swatches, I wouldn't help thinking of speckled eggs. So I decided this collection would be perfect for a Easter manicure. Here it is! 

I hope you enjoyed this post. 

Have a fantastic weekend, and if you celebrate, have a wonderful Easter. 

<3 Shanna

BMC Downtown Collection Swatches and Nail Art

Hello my nail polish/art loving friends! 

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a gorgeous cream polish collection made by Bundle Monster! It's the 2014 Fall collection called Downtown Collection and is inspired by the beauty of London. 

There are 6 colors and they are all beautiful. So let's get to it!

The first color is a gorgeous deep maroon color called "Bristol". It is a lovely cream polish that is completely opaque in 2 coats, in fact, they all are. This color is a perfect red for all occasions. 

And for the nail art on this color, I wanted to test these colors out for water marbling. 

They work! Check it out! So pretty! <3

Next up is "Oxford",  a neutral taupe. 

This color reminds me of a long trench coat that would be worn in London on all those rainy days. 

I wanted to try out the heart leopard look and thought this was the perfect color for it. Guess what, I was right! For this look I painted on the hearts and outlined with black acrylic paint. 

The 3rd color in the collection is called "Eaton" and is a dark teal color. It is very unique and kind of hard to photograph, but it's a gorgeous color. 

This one I wanted to go glamorous, so I sponged on some glitter to make it sort of ombre looking. 

I liked the end result. :)

The 4th color in this collection is called "Crowley" and is a cool deep purple. This is my favorite color in the collection. (But I am biased to purple and pinks.)

For this one, I used Bundle monster stamp M-620 from the CYO 2014 set. You can get it here. Once stamped, I filled in the hearts with a purple glitter. This is my favorite. I am probably again biased. Purple and glitter....can't go wrong. Haha. 

The 5th color is called "Redhill' and is a really deep shade of burgundy. It is almost brown. The pictures don't show it really, but it has a bit of shimmer to it. It is a really pretty color. 

For this manicure, I used stamp BM-415 from the 2013 CYO collection which you can get here. I also used some gold tape and studs. The studs are also from Bundle Monster and you can get them here.

The last color in this gorgeous collection is called "Harlow" and is a brilliant deep royal blue. 

Lovely color and as with all the above, goes on easy and is opaque in 2 coats.

For this look, I used Bundle Monster plate BM-317 from the 2012 Collection,  which you can get here. :)

Well, that is the collection. What do you think? 

Do you like all the colors, or do you have one or a couple favorites?

You can get it here on BundleMonster.com or here at Amazon.com

Thanks so much for reading!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and review! 

Take care,

<3 Shanna

Painted Polish, Femme Fatales Collection: Part 1 - swatches and review

Hello Friends!

Painted Polish, Femme Fatales Collection: Part 1

I am a HUGE Painted Polish fan and have been buying pretty much any collection that Lexi (the creator and maker of this polish) dreams up and sells. She specializes in uber gorgeous holographic glitter polishes that you can use as a topper or as a full coverage nail (which I always do) in 2-3 coats. 

But today's collection is a little more unique to her previous collections. The Femme Fatales Collection: Part 1 has multichrome flakies jam packed with holographic glitter. *The colors shift depending of how you are looking at the nail and if you are indoors vs outdoors. I took my photos inside in a light box. 

The first color I am going to show you is a gold/red/green color. It is super unique and pretty darn beautiful. I tried to get different angles and there is a macro pic too. :) This one is called, "Temptress".

The next color is a blue/green/gold/kinda teal color. (Like I said, the color shifts.) I love this one. It's called, "Enchantress'. 

And the last in this first collection and my personal favorite is called, "Seductress". I adore this color and plan on wearing it quite a bit! 

All in all these colors are all so pretty, went on smoothly, and I got full coverage in 2 thick coats, or 3 thiner coats. This collection reminds me of Mardi Gras and I could totally see myself wearing this for a Mardi Gras mani. 

The price for the set is $37.00 or you can buy them individually for $13.00 each.

You can get them here.

Which color is your favorite?

Would you like to see more swatches of other Painted Polish Collections?

Thanks for reading!

<3 Shanna

Rainbow Ombre Nails

Hello Friends!

Todays post is to show you my rainbow ombre nails! I did this for a challenge on Instagram, but have been wanting to try it for a long time! It's so pretty!

For these nails I first applied liquid latex so that cleanup would be easier. (Much easier.) 

Then I used a sponge and painted on all the colors of the rainbow, then sponged it on my nails. I repeated that one more time to get it more opaque, then pealed the liquid latex off. I then used acetone to clean up my cuticles and applied a Holo top coat. The one I used is by Fun Lacquer called Diamond. Then I sealed it all off with a quick try top coat. This is the result. So pretty and easy right!?

Here is a picture in the sun so you can really see the holographic glitter shine!

And then I went a step further. I saw a friend on Instagram do it, and since I had the rainbow nails, I needed to try it! Go check hers out. @kadnails on Instagram. 

What do you think? I like both looks, though the sugar coated nails don't really last long. Haha.

Thanks for reading!!!

Love,

Shanna

BMC Red Carpet Metallic Foil Effect Gel Polish - Review and Swatches

Hello Friends! 

Today I have a the Red Carpet Collection from Bundle Monster to show you.  It is a metallic foil effect gel polish that is super gorgeous, but a little tricky to apply. It took me a few tries before getting it right, but once I did, it was pretty easy. I will give you the directions and some tips, but first, look at these colors!

The first color is a very classy red. I will definitely be using this one more for valentines day!

 It is called, "Miles in Louboutins".

*It looks a little more orange in the picture below than it is in real life. 

The next color is a brilliant royal blue. I love this color! 

It is called, "The New LBD" and is one of my favorites in this collection. 

The next color is a super pretty hot pink! Another good one for Valentines Day! 

This one is called, "Rising Starlet".

The next color is a pretty green. Now I am not a green polish lover, but this one surprised me. Must be the foil effect. :)

This one is called, "Hollywood & Ivy" and it reminds me of dresses I have seen actresses wear on the red carpet. 

Next up is a gold that really shines like gold! It is pretty amazing. 

This color is called, "Paparazzi".

And the last color in the collection and my personal favorite, is a gorgeous purple. I LOVE it. 

It is called, "Photo Op". 

So now that you have seen all the colors, let me give you the directions for application. 

Application Steps: 

1. Apply your base gel and cure.
2. Apply a top coat directly over the base gel.  
3. Remove the tacky layer.
4. Shake the gel for 30 seconds (like really well). 
5. Wipe both sides of the brush against the neck of the bottle before applying the product to the nail.  
6. Apply using side, middle, side application strokes, being careful not to allow each stroke to overlap the next.  If you can get away with only 2 strokes, go with that. 
7. Allow each coat to rest for about 30 seconds before curing.  It will appear to dry on it's own.
8. Cure 30-60 seconds depending on your lamp.  
9. Repeat steps 5-8.
10. Apply your top coat, being careful not to let the brush drag into the metallic layer below.  

Note: This is a gel polish, but it is unlike any gel I have ever used. It is as thin as water, and if you have too much on the brush, it will flood into your cuticles and stain your skin. (I learned this the hard way.) So, make sure to dip your brush and wipe all the access off on the side of the bottle. The coats must be SUPER thin. 

So what do you think? What is your favorite color?

I have one more picture to show you. I used my favorite color, Photo Op, and dotted on some flowers. 

If you want to get this collection, or just one color, you can go to BundleMonster.com or Amazon to purchase. 

Thank you for reading!

<3 Shanna