Nail Art- Summer Polka Dots w/ My Sister!

Hi there!

So to break up the monotony of all the MOTD posts, today I have nail art for you guys! My sister recently started her first day of high school (she’s a freshman this year!) and she asked me to do something on her nails to make them stand out on the first day. Being the nail polish addict I am, I was happy to oblige. She told me she wanted something dotted, and I had been wanting to do a dot nail art design for awhile. So we picked the colors and got to work. Here’s the design we created!

I wanted to go with a fun, upbeat color scheme, since technically, it is still summer. My sister liked the idea of yellow and pink together, and I liked it as well. For my pink, I used a Love and Beauty satin-finish pink (I ripped the name off by mistake, unfortunately). It even smells a bit fruity when it dries, though I’m not sure why. The yellow I chose, for the base color on the nails, was Love and Beauty Yellow. It’s a shimmery, sheer yellow with silver shimmer running through it. In terms of yellows, this one is a cooler, lemon tone, as opposed to some of the warmer yellows. Unfortunately, this yellow was in no way opaque enough to make the yellow polka dots, so I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Mellow Yellow for the polka dots. I alternated between yellow nails/pink dots and pink nails/yellow dots. To make the dots, I just used a toothpick (I don’t currently own any nail art dotting tools). Pictures below are with no topcoat.

Natural indoor lighting

Artificial Indoor Lighting

So what do you think of the polka dot design? Are you a fan of this kind of nail art? Let me know in the comments! Also, special thanks to my sister, Sarah, for her guest modeling!

~Beth~

 

MOTD- Love and Beauty “Red”

Hi guys!

Today I have for you a really pretty polish from Forever 21’s makeup line, “Love and Beauty”. And quite honestly, it’s the strangest name I’ve come across for a polish, because this polish isn’t red at all…. it’s a bright, raspberry pink. Oh Love and Beauty. You really do fail in the naming department sometimes. That being said, I’m really in love with this polish, so let’s get to it!

Love and Beauty “Red”

Love and Beauty “Red” is a rich, raspberry pink jelly polish with tiny glass flecks throughout. The glass flecks aren’t obvious at first, but they really shine in the sun! The polish is fairly sheer, so it takes 2-3 coats to build up. In person, it looks really squishy, like a plump berry ready to burst with its sweet juice. The glass flecks add an extra depth to the polish that makes it very unique. The name really does not do this fantastic polish justice. I’ll add a bottle shot to the photo mix to try and show the depth of the glass flecks. The pictures below are 3 coats of “Red”, with no topcoat.

Sunlight

Sunlight

 

Natural indoor lighting

Indoor bottle shot (to see the glass flecks)

I’m pretty enamored with this polish, it looks a little different every time I look at it! Have you tried any of the Love and Beauty nail polishes? Which is your favorite? Love and Beauty nail polishes are available at Forever 21 stores and on their website, here. A hint to bargain shoppers? Search through the Forever 21 sale bins. I found this polish there for 99¢! These polishes generally retail for $2.80.

~Beth~

 

 

I’m Baaaccckkkk! Vacation MOTD- Love and Beauty “Peacock” and “Pink”

Hi everyone!

I’m back from the cruise! I sailed on the Carnival Pride, and boy, was it wonderful! It was nice to get away for a week and be waited on (and eat everything in sight, lol!). Unfortunately, it rained while I was in the Bahamas (thanks to tropical storm Dorian), but it did little to dampen the fun of the vacation!

Of course, while I was away, I couldn’t neglect my nails! Today I have for you a (very impromptu) MOTD, with the pictures taken in the ship’s theater, called the Taj Mahal. Both of the colors I have in the pictures are from Forever 21’s line, Love and Beauty, and I bought them both in NYC the week before I left, and gave them a try on the ship!

“Pink” is a a gorgeous, sheer bubblegum/cotton candy pink with a sky blue duochrome shimmer. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s much more in depth than a standard pink! In the bottle it is a feast for the eyes, it is spectacular! Unfortunately, on the nail, it doesn’t translate the same. With 4 coats (seen in the pictures) you can still see visible nail line. I would recommend this color as a layering polish, because it’s still so gorgeous!

“Peacock” is a gorgeous dark blue/turquoise shimmer, with a teal and deep purple duochrome running through this. I originally had picked out a different color to buy on my first trip to NYC, but one look at the bottle and I was sold! The color translates extremely well to the nail, and it opaque in 2-3 coats depending on how thick the layers are. I used three in the picture below because while on the ship, I tried to use extra thin coats of polish to help dry it (the ocean humidity can really do a number on wet nails). Pictures below are with no base or top coat (because I forgot to pack mine, oops!)

Again, sorry for the lighting/picture quality of these. It was the best I could do on the ship. But regularly scheduled posts will begin again starting tomorrow, and I’ve got lots of great polishes to share with you, including one I bought in the Bahamas that changes color in the sun! I’m happy to be back and blogging again, and I hope you’ll continue to follow me in my nail polish shenanigans!

~Beth~

Chinese-Inspired MOTD w/ New Love and Beauty Glitter!

Hi everyone!

Today I have for you another of the polishes that I bought from Forever 21 in NYC. As it happens, I’ll be going there again tomorrow with my best friend! We’re going to see a show at the Lincoln Center called “Monkey: Journey to the West”. It’s completely in Mandarin Chinese and features Chinese music and dancing. My Chinese skills are nonexistent, so I hope my friend will help translate for me, lol! Luckily there are English subtitles, so I can still understand what’s going on!

In honor of the show I’m seeing tomorrow, I’m wearing red and gold nail polishes, in honor of the traditional colors of the Chinese flag. The red I chose to use is an Ulta Salon Formula Nail Laquer (in the old, rectangular bottles, as opposed to the new cylindrical ones) in the color “Ruby Slipper”. The red is deep, rich, and for a shimmery-frosty color, the brush strokes are extremely manageable. It’s almost a one coater for me! To ensure it was perfect, though, I used two coats.

The gold glitter is the Love and Beauty Forever 21 polish I got in NYC, and its name is “Gold”. I know, what a creative name for a gold glitter. But while it’s got a boring name, it’s by no means a boring color! “Gold” has tiny gold glitters mixed in with medium gold and holographic gold hex glitters. The glitter is pretty easy to manage (the formula isn’t too thick) and with two coats, the glitter spreads fairly evenly, so you won’t have to do too much glitter placement. I love this combo together so much! I think it’s perfect for the occasion, and highly sophisticated. Below are pictures in artificial, indoor lighting, with a base coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Color in “Flawless”, no topcoat.

What do you think of this glistening combination of colors? Do you like fun, punchy glitters like this one? Let me know!

~Beth~

MOTD- Love and Beauty “Emerald”

Hi all!

Today I have a really beautiful polish to share with you. It’s one of the three Love and Beauty polishes I picked up at the Times Square Forever 21 yesterday. This polish is called “Emerald”, and upon first glance, it looks like the person who named it got really confused, lol! In the bottle, it appears to have a very purple, duochrome base, but upon applying it, it definitely has a dark, blue-based emerald base. As you build up the color, though, the emerald gets much darker, and almost appears like a very dark blue-green purple duochrome. No matter what, it’s a real gem! Here’s a bottle shot below:

Here you can sort of see the duochrome of the polish, but honestly, pictures do not do this beauty justice. You can hardly see the varying shades of purple shimmer, peach shimmer, gold shimmer, and green in the bottle. It’s such a deep, fascinating polish, it just looks different at every single angle. Below are pictures with 4 coats of “Emerald”, no topcoat, in indoor, artificial lighting (sorry for the lack of sun pictures today, the weather just wouldn’t cooperate)

The formula on this polish was nice, very thin and easy to apply. The only problem was, it was a bit sheer. It took 4 coats to build up so you couldn’t see the visible nail line. I wish it were more opaque, because with just 1-2 layers, it’s a completely different polish. Deep blue/emerald turquoise with a very purple/red shimmer. Don’t get me wrong, the color you see above (which the camera truly didn’t capture well enough to do the polish justice) is absolutely phenomenal, but wouldn’t it be awesome to get two colors out of one polish?! I’ll try it with a white base some time to see how it works.

This polish is somewhat similar to another polish I ran across once. While not exact dupes, I think Versace v2077 (picture below) has a very similar look to “Emerald”. The bases are slightly different. But considering the hefty pricetag on the Versace, I think “Emerald” is a great, high quality inexpensive choice.

Overall, I think this polish is a must have. Love and Beauty polishes are currently $2.80 at Forever 21 stores, plus tax (unless you’re in Delaware, then there’s never sales tax! :-D)

What do you think of this unique beauty of a polish? Are you a fan of shimmery duochromes, or is creme your style? Let me know in the comments!

~Beth~

Mani of the Day (MOTD)- Love and Beauty “Royal”

Essentially, a mani of the day is an excuse for me to post pictures of my favorite polishes, new or old, hopefully for your enjoyment. If I don’t have new polishes to show you, I’ll probably post MOTD’s. Hopefully they will inspire you to try out some of my favorite colors! So let’s get on with today’s post.

Today I have for you a polish by Forever 21’s beauty brand, Love and Beauty. While the nail polish names are relatively uncreative, I’ve still gotten some great bargains from them. Most of them can be purchased for between $1-$3! They also have an incredible selection of colors. Today’s color, in the shade “Royal”, is specially selected for the impending birth of the Duchess of Cambridge’s royal baby. And what a perfect color for the event! “Royal” is a blurple, a beautiful combination of indigo and dark purple fine glitter in a dark blue base. It takes about 3 coats to be opaque, but it’s definitely worth it! The blue is more prominent in the sunlight while the purple sparkles brighter in the sun. Below are two pictures indoors, and two pictures in the sunlight. All are one coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No-Chip Nail Color in “Flawless” as a base coat, and three coats of “Royal”, no top coat.

Sunlight

Indoors

Sunlight

Indoors

What do you think of this polish? Will you be wearing any themed colors for the arrival of the royal baby?

~Beth~