A Multitude of Cats Nail Art (with a Sharpie!)

Happy Caturday! I am a cat lover. You might call me a crazy cat lady, but I only have 2 so, in my opinion, it hasn't reached crazy levels quite yet. In any case, when I'm doing nail art, I often look for inspiration in the things around me--patterns, colors, scenery, objects. Today, I decided to try my hand at matching my phone case...because cats.

It's probably the best phone case ever.

For this mani, I painted my nails white with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and let it dry completely. Then I used an ultra fine point Sharpie (yes, a Sharpie) to draw the cats. I used Seche Vite for a top coat, but later found out that Seche and Sharpie ink don't really mesh so well. It can cause streaking. I read somewhere that when using Sharpie on your nails, it helps to seal it with hairspray before applying top coat. I didn't do this and I have no idea if it works, but I might try it next time to avoid streaking.

What do you think? Sharpies for nail art? Yea or nay?

Thanks for reading!

Purple Skittles Mani for World Cancer Day (and pre-Valentine's)

Happy Friday!! I have another "skittles" nail art mani for you. I had a hankering for a purple mani so I grabbed several of my favorite purples and made one. It was also in commemoration of World Cancer Day on February 4, 2014.

Thumb and ring finger are Whimsical Ideas by Pam - Persian Violets over Zoya - Purity.

Index is Zoya - Trixie for the base. Then I used striping tape to block off 3 sections and filled with Julep - Gayle, Essie - Play Date, and Julep - Simone.

Middle finger is Color Club - Eternal Beauty with a stamp on top (plate: Bundle Monster 317 with Konad Black).

Pinkie is Essie - Play Date for the base, Julep - Gayle for the heart and the dots are Zoya - Trixie.

You might notice the smudging on my middle finger. I was a little too heavy-handed with my top coat and it smudged the black. Sometimes top coats can be tricky. The stamp didn't work out as well as I'd like either, but it wasn't really cooperating, in general, so this was as good as I could get it at the time.

Thanks for reading!

Finger Lickin' Lacquer Tooth Decay Collection

It's been a little while since I last posted, but I have a boatload of photos for you today. I was able to review a few polishes from a new indie polish brand called Finger Lickin' Lacquer. This brand makes scented polishes, although you can opt for the unscented versions if you prefer.

I have 3 polishes from the Tooth Decay line: Not A Peep, Fairy Floss, and Truffle Shuffle.

From left: Not A Peep, Fairy Floss, and Truffle Shuffle

First is Not A Peep. This one is modeled after those Peep candies that used to only appear in the Spring, but now seem to be omnipresent. It is a bright, shimmery yellow base with with small white glitter--both round and square, clear iridescent square glitter, and a very small amount of  small black glitter (for the eyes!). It smells like Peeps.

Direct sun

Shade

This polish goes on very smoothly. I didn't have any trouble with the small glitter, although there wasn't very much black glitter in the bottle so I had to search a little for it. Glitter lays flat. The scent was very sugary sweet, much like the candy, but it also had a chemical smell to it, which I did not like. After it dries down, the chemical smell dissipates a bit, but I still noticed it. The above photos are 3 coats with top coat. It would be fine in 2 coats, but I wanted to build it up a bit more as it is a little sheer.

I also tried Not A Peep with a base color (undies). For these, I used Butter London Jasper.

Next is Fairy Floss. This one is a sheer pink base with a bluish iridescent shimmer. It contains white hex glitter of varying sizes, light pink glitter, white bar glitter, matte silver and gold glitter. It smells like cotton candy.

Direct sun

Shade

I think this one is very pretty. I'm usually not into sheer polishes, but I love how this one adds a touch of fun (and fairy dust?) to my nails without being in-your-face. I used 3 coats with top coat here because I wanted to see if I could build it up, but 2 coats would be fine. No problems with the glitter. This one smells like cotton candy, but like Not A Peep, it also had a chemical smell. It is not as sugary sweet as Not A Peep, but still sweet. I wore this one for 24 hours and I could still smell the cotton candy after numerous hand washings and a shower.

This polish would make a good topper and because of the iridescent shimmer, I had to try it on a darker base...for science. The following is Fairy Floss over Julep Cleopatra (a black polish).

Indirect sun

Direct Sun

It's like an entirely different polish over black! It really allows the blue shimmer to show through. For good measure, I also put it over a red, Orly Crawford's Wine.

Indirect sun

Shade

Direct Sun

Lastly, this is Truffle Shuffle. It is a sheer brown base with a gold shimmer, orange and green glitter of varying shapes—hex, square, circle—and a smattering of matte gold glitter. Smells like chocolate. Sadly, the sun was being shy behind some clouds so I couldn't get a direct sun shot.

I used 3 coats here with top coat, again, because I wanted to see if I could build it up. I like the depth that you can achieve with this polish. No problems with the glitter. It really does smell like chocolate, but with that same chemical scent present in the other two.

I tried this one with two base colors and posted comparison pics. For base colors, I used Essie Sand Tropez and China Glaze Mahogany Magic.

Finger Lickin' Lacquer polishes will be available beginning February 17, 2014 at http://fingerlickinlacquer.com/shop/. Bottles are $8.50 each.

Thanks for reading!

Finger Lickin' Lacquer polishes were provided for review. All opinions are my own.